Stand By Me
by MiharuLove
Summary: An old fashioned love story between Ritsuka and Soubi. Rated for yaoi. Warning: Lemon! In chapters 8, 9, 13, and kind of 16, anyway. Some language. Previously called 'Just Say It'. OMG I'M WRITING AGAIN!
1. Chapter 1

_AN: I do not own these characters or Loveless. They belong to Yun Kouga or whoever. Not me. Get it? Got it? Good.  
This is just chapter one. If people like it, I may continue. Reviews would be very helpful, thank you. ^^;  
PS: This is a working title. I don't know where it'll end up going, so I'm just gonna be generic. Rating M in case of developments._

**Just Say It**

Ritsuka's eyes fluttered open and he turned his head to look at the alarm clock on the bedside table. 3:09 am.

Damnit.

He punched the pillow and rolled over, willing sleep to come to him again. He was having a really good dream. He was frustrated that his body decided to wake him up. He sighed and sat up in bed.

He looked around his small room and his eyes locked on his cell phone. The red light was blinking.

"Text message?" he mumbled, wondering.

He got up and went over to his computer desk, picked the thing up, and flipped it open. It was a text from Soubi.

_To Ritsuka:_

_I'm sorry if I wake you. I just wanted to tell you that I love you. Good night, Ritsuka._

Ritsuka scrolled down and looked at the time that the text was sent. 3:09 am. So Soubi was up. His ears twitched and he hit the reply button. He typed in his message, hit send, and went back over to his bed with the cell phone in his hand.

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Soubi jumped as he felt his phone vibrate under his pillow. He dug it out and flipped it open.

_To Soubi:_

_Why are you still awake? Go to sleep already. *chuu*_

He smiled to himself. He could remember a time when Ritsuka would have been really mad about getting awoken for something so simple like that. But times had changed. Ritsuka was a man now. Well, almost. At seventeen, he had grown a considerable amount so that he was almost as tall as Soubi. His silky black hair now swept his collarbone and his body had matured into a sleek, muscular figure.

Ritsuka's mind had matured as well. He had long since accepted that Soubi loved him, and that it was no longer just an order from Seimei or a spell to make their bond stronger. Soubi had fallen in love with Ritsuka of his own free will, and Ritsuka adored him for that.

Soubi sat up and chewed on his lower lip, trying to decide. He got up and pulled on his coat and shoes and swept out the door, leaving only a faint scent of lavender and tobacco behind.

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Ritsuka sighed as his laid back on his pillows. His eyes slid to the darkened bulletin board on the wall above his computer. That was where all of the most important memories were kept. There were photos from when Soubi and Ritsuka had first met and gone to the park all those long years ago. There were pictures of the various outings that Yuiko had dragged him along on. There were also some more recent ones, done in the MySpace style of holding the camera up at an angle of him and Soubi together. Him and Soubi hugging. Him and Soubi kissing. He smiled. Soubi had that effect on him, he couldn't help it.

Then Ritsuka heard a gentle knock on the window to his balcony. His ears perked and his tail swished excitedly. He hurried up and went to unlock the window. He stood there looking at Soubi, smiling.

"I knew you would come."

Ritsuka stood aside to let Soubi in. He took off his coat and hung it over the chair at Ritsuka's computer desk. Then he crossed the floor in two strides and pulled Ritsuka into a tight embrace.

"I missed you."

"I know you did. I missed you too." Ritsuka sighed as he nuzzled his head into Soubi's chest. Soubi found this incredibly adorable. He lifted Ritsuka's chin and looked into his dusty purple eyes. They were like portals into Ritsuka's heart. Soubi loved Ritsuka's eyes. They made him melt.

Ritsuka put his arms around Soubi's neck and kissed his soft lips. His fingers snaked into Soubi's long dusty blonde hair. Soubi put his arms around Ritsuka's waist and poured his whole self into that kiss. It was amazing how well they fit together.

Ritsuka pulled away enough to look up into Soubi's face.

"So why were you still up, anyway?"

"I couldn't sleep." Soubi said.

"Well no shit. Why couldn't you sleep?" Ritsuka loved it when Soubi toyed with him like that.

"I was thinking.""What were you thinking about?""One guess." Soubi tightened his arms around Ritsuka and kissed him. Ritsuka felt a heat coming to his cheeks. He didn't know if he was embarrassed or if he was turned on. He just knew that hearing Soubi say that made him weak in the knees. He swooned and grabbed onto Soubi's shirt. But Soubi's arms weren't letting Ritsuka go anywhere. They held him there, next to him, and Ritsuka felt that he could be in those arms forever. His tail swished contentedly and he closed his eyes as he nuzzled into Soubi's chest again.

"I'm sorry for waking you up. I know it's a school night." Soubi said as he nibbled softly on Ritsuka's silky little kitty ears.

"It's ok. I wasn't sleeping well anyway." he lied. This, no matter how good his dream was, was always better.

Soubi smiled because he knew that Ritsuka was lying. He swooped down and picked Ritsuka up, newly-wed style, and carried him over to his bed.

"I just ---" he said, between kisses, "wanted--- to see you--- so much. --- I love you--- Ritsuka."

Ritsuka blushed and bit his lower lip. His arms were still around Soubi's neck even though he was laying down again. He held on tight, hoping that Soubi understood. Ritsuka still wasn't comfortable with saying that he loved Soubi to his face. He knew that he did, and he didn't know what was holding him back. What was more, all of his friends knew how he felt about Soubi too. They had been together for five years. They were best friends. They were in love. He just couldn't bring himself to say it.

Soubi smiled and held Ritsuka close to him. He could feel his gentle heartbeat against his chest and his soft breath against his neck. He understood.

Soubi straightened up and looked down at Ritsuka. "I should go and let you sleep." he said sweetly.

Ritsuka's ears twitched. "I won't be able to now."

"Why not?"

"Because I'll be thinking." Ritsuka blushed. "But if you were to stay…"

"...I could fall asleep if you were here."

Soubi smiled wide and asked, "well then, maybe I should stay?"

Ritsuka grabbed his hand and dragged Soubi down to the bed. He laid down and wrapped his arms around Ritsuka. Ritsuka was smiling contentedly and his hands were balled up in the front of Soubi's shirt. "Thank you," he said sheepishly.

Soubi put his chin on the top of Ritsuka's head. "Anything for Ritsuka."

They soon fell asleep.

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Ritsuka was startled by the alarm clock going off. He looked around. Soubi wasn't in bed anymore. His coat was still on the back of his computer chair.

"Now where did he get to?" Ritsuka asked the room.

He got up and shut off his alarm. Seven am. He couldn't wait until he was a university student and he could wake up whenever he wanted to. Ritsuka inspected his bedroom more closely. Soubi's shirt was pooled on the seat of the chair where his coat was. Ritsuka smiled and picked it up. It smelled like Soubi. He folded it neatly and set it back on the seat. His ears perked when he found a small note laying on his keyboard.

_Went to take a shower. _

Ritsuka sighed and placed the note on his bedside table. He stripped himself of his pajamas and pulled on what he was going to wear to school that day. A pair of jeans and a sweater. It was getting cold outside.

He went out into the hallway and padded softly down the hallway to the bathroom. He knocked gently on the door, trying not to make too much noise so that he wouldn't wake up his mother.

Soubi opened the door and smiled. He was in the process of drying his hair in one of Ritsuka's preferred towels. It smelled like Ritsuka. His chest was bare but he had put his pants on already. Ritsuka felt sheepish and said, "I have to brush my teeth."

"Of course. Help yourself to the mirror. I'm almost done drying myself off."

But Ritsuka just stood there, looking at Soubi. He could see countless lacerations across Soubi's chest and back, scars from wounds that his Sensei and Seimei had inflicted. Ritsuka felt a swell of emotion at the sight of them and he blinked. His eyes were wetter than usual.

Soubi looked at Ritsuka curiously. "What's wrong, Ritsuka?"

"You have so many scars." Ritsuka said simply.

Soubi smiled and stepped closer to Ritsuka. He looked down into his shining eyes and saw an emotion he couldn't really place. It was somewhere between concern and anger.

"They're long in the past now, Ritsuka. Don't worry about me. I'm fine now." He ran his finger down the edge of one of Ritsuka's ears. It twitched and Ritsuka purred. "You have nothing to feel badly about, Ritsuka. You've never hurt me."

Ritsuka's eyes, which he had closed at Soubi's touch, snapped open. He stared into Soubi's warm and welcoming face. Suddenly he bolted forward and wrapped his arms around Soubi in a fierce embrace. Soubi was taken aback slightly. Usually it was him who initiated any physical contact.

"I'm sorry about what Seimei did to you, Soubi."

"Now now, Ritsuka, you couldn't help it. You were only a boy then. And we didn't even know each other."

"I know, I just can't believe that he was like that. He was so nice to me. But…."

"Hmm?"

Ritsuka's face was flush with emotion. "I guess he tricked me."

Soubi slid the fingers of one of his hands into Ritsuka's and the other he entwined in Ritsuka's hair. He didn't know what to say. "Seimei deceived many people, Ritsuka. Don't feel bad."

Ritsuka was soothed by Soubi's warm body. He could feel his heart thumping softly in his chest. He looked up into Soubi's face. Soubi's fingers came up to his face and wiped away the tears that were welling up at the sides of his eyes. They lingered on Ritsuka's cheeks. "Please don't cry about what happened to me in the past, Ritsuka. My heart hurts whenever I see you cry. I love you."

Ritsuka pressed his lips against Soubi's cheek. "I'm sorry."

Soubi hugged Ritsuka tightly as Ritsuka kissed him. "It's not your fault, Ritsuka. I just don't like seeing you hurt, that's all."

Ritsuka stared at Soubi's lips. "I don't like to see you hurt, either." His ears twitched and suddenly, Ritsuka's soft lips were caressing Soubi's. They were coaxing his mouth open. Soubi felt a silky little tongue dart into his mouth and slide against his. He was startled and visibly shivered at Ritsuka's sudden brashness. He had tried containing his want for the boy over the years. He wanted Ritsuka to be comfortable when the time finally came for them to get more physical. So far, though, they had never kissed like this before, and all of Soubi's desires came flooding back. He had to use all of his willpower to not pounce on Ritsuka and take him right there on the bathroom floor. Ritsuka would choose when was the right time. He was the master, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ritsuka?"

"Hmm?" Ritsuka snapped out of his reverie when he heard his name. He turned his head on his hand and gazed dazedly towards the source of the voice. It was Yuiko.

She giggled at the look on Ritsuka's face and said, "Were you daydreaming, Ritsuka-kun?"

"Why does it matter?" Ritsuka asked slowly. He didn't really want to talk about it.

Yuiko smiled and said, "You were daydreaming. I bet it was about Soubi-san. What's going on with you two, anyway? Any… new developments?" Ritsuka felt annoyed. It was so like Yuiko to ask him about Soubi. She had become even more persistent in her attempts to know what was going on in his relationship with Soubi ever since she had come to school without her ears or tail. Yayoi had come to school the same day without his, too. Ritsuka was more than a little relieved that Yuiko had gotten over him, but he was now constantly barraged with questions about Soubi and if they were going to take it to the next level any time soon. It was almost like she was willing him to lose his ears so that she would feel better about losing hers before he did.

"He stayed the night last night." Ritsuka said.

Yuiko giggled and reached for his ears. "Nope, they're still real."

"Cut it out, Yuiko!" Ritsuka spluttered, embarrassed.

The truth was, he was becoming impatient with still being a virgin, too. The numbers of students with ears in his class had slowly dwindled over the years ever since he started attending high school. Now, about three quarters of the class was earless and tailless. He didn't want to end up like his sixth grade teacher and be a virgin until he was twenty-three, but he was incredibly nervous about losing his ears. Would Soubi still like him without his cute little appendages? He was also nervous about the act itself. Would it hurt? Would it feel nice? Would he be able to handle his and Soubi's relationship going to that higher level? He guessed that he would. He just didn't want to push himself onto Soubi all of a sudden. That wasn't his style. But maybe that's what Soubi needed.

"You know, Ritsuka-kun, Soubi-san would probably be glad to take your ears from you."

Ritsuka sighed. He wasn't as sure. Lately, Soubi had been less physical with him. Their relationship was burgeoning in so many other areas, and they were lovers emotionally, but their physical relationship really hadn't changed that much since he was twelve. Maybe Soubi really was a pedophile and Ritsuka was getting too old for him. No, that couldn't be it, because they were still so much in love. Ritsuka could see it in Soubi's face every time he saw him. He loved Ritsuka, and would do anything for him. Except, apparently, what Ritsuka secretly desired from him from about age fifteen. Ritsuka was frustrated immensely by this, but he didn't want Soubi to break it off with him if he tried to get him to take his ears.

He looked up at the clock in the classroom. 2:29 pm.

"Oh, damn." Ritsuka threw his books in his bag and stood up just in time for the final bell to ring. He raced to his locker to retrieve his coat and sprinted outside to the front gate.

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Soubi was standing out front of the immense high school building, waiting for Ritsuka to get out of school. He was there almost everyday, waiting, waiting, longing to see his Ritsuka. Ritsuka was like a drug to him. He would sprint out of the school and skid to a halt just in front of Soubi, out of breath and flushed from physical exertion, disheveled from attempting to don his coat while running. Soubi thought it was the most adorable thing in the world.

He heard the final bell ring and knew that Ritsuka would be out in thirty seconds or less. He took a drag on his cigarette and counted in his head. _One… two… three…_

…_twenty… twenty-one… twenty-two…_

_There he is._

Ritsuka skidded to a halt in front of him, just like always, and Soubi smiled. Ritsuka broke his record today. He took another drag on his cigarette. He knew Ritsuka would be getting jealous right about now.

"That's not fair." Ritsuka scowled.

"Hmm? What's not fair?" Soubi asked, playing with Ritsuka.

"That you get to smoke while you're waiting for me."

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to quit?"

"No. I like the way it smells on you." Ritsuka muttered softly and looked down at the ground.

Soubi smiled and pulled Ritsuka against him. He took a drag, then he kissed Ritsuka and transferred the smoke to him.

"It would be easier to just give me one." Ritsuka said indignantly after he'd savored the smoke in his lungs.

"But that wouldn't be as fun." Soubi laughed.

"It probably wouldn't turn me on, either." Ritsuka muttered under his breath.

"What's that, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked, pretending not to have understood what Ritsuka just said while in actuality he understood every word.

Ritsuka blushed and said, "Nothing, nothing."

Soubi smirked, pulled out his pack, and gave Ritsuka a cigarette. He pulled out his lighter and lit it for Ritsuka.

Ritsuka took a drag and exhaled slowly as he entwined his fingers with Soubi's. "Shall we then?"

"Of course. What do you want to do today?" Soubi asked.

"Lets go to your place." Ritsuka said. His ears twitched, his tail flicked, and he looked up at Soubi coyly.

Soubi smiled yet again. It was just like Ritsuka to do this. "Yes sir."

Ritsuka slapped his arm with the back of his hand lightly. "Don't say that."

"Why not?""It makes you sound like you're my slave or something. Like I bought you." Ritsuka took another drag and blew the smoke out his nose. Soubi snorted. It made him look like a pissed off cat-dragon.

"What?" Ritsuka said indignantly, thinking Soubi was making fun of what he said.

"Nothing. …. Do that again, Ritsuka, it was funny."

"Do what?"

"Exhale through your nose."

Ritsuka obliged and Soubi cracked up again. He quieted with a dirty look from Ritsuka.

"I think it's cute, that's all." Soubi said.

Ritsuka stopped walking and pulled Soubi to face him. "You do it. I wanna see what's so funny."

"Is that an order?" Soubi asked mockingly.

"No, it's a request." Ritsuka said. He wrapped his arms around Soubi's waist and pulled him closer. "Please?"Soubi was startled. He looked at Ritsuka and took the cigarette from between his fingers. He inhaled and exhaled through his nose.

Ritsuka studied him closely. "I don't think it's funny. I think it's sexy."

Now Soubi looked utterly bewildered. Ritsuka was never that forward about his feelings, especially in public. Ritsuka eyed Soubi's face with a dubious expression. He took the cigarette back and inhaled, then he kissed Soubi and transferred his smoke to Soubi. Soubi felt like he was going to faint and he placed his hands on Ritsuka's hips to steady himself. He exhaled through his nose again. It felt really good to do that for some reason unfathomable to him.

"So that's what that's like for you, huh?" Soubi asked. "I get why it turns you on, now.

"Now it was Ritsuka's turn to look bewildered. "You heard that? You asshole, I thought you didn't hear me."

Soubi smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry, Ritsuka." He placed his hands on Ritsuka's face and kissed him again. "Do you forgive me?"

Ritsuka's face was unreadable. His ears parted down the middle and his tail halted it's previous slow sweep through the air.

Suddenly, he pounced on Soubi and the pair fell to the ground, giggling, and Ritsuka bit Soubi on the neck playfully. Soubi felt like he was going to faint again. What was Ritsuka doing? Didn't he know that he was making it harder and harder for Soubi to control himself?

Soubi lifted Ritsuka off of him and the pair stood up. Ritsuka placed his hand on Soubi's chest and stared at Soubi's lips.

Soubi cleared his throat and said, "Well, shall we get going?"

Ritsuka's eyes snapped up to meet Soubi's and it seemed like an electric charge passed between them. His fingers slackened and the cigarette, now three quarters gone, fell to the ground.

"Yeah, lets go." Ritsuka said, his voice deep and husky. He ground the cigarette butt into the earth and grabbed Soubi's hand again.

Soubi was officially dumbfounded now. He allowed himself to be navigated towards his own apartment. He felt a warm hand go into his coat pocket and fish out his house key. He looked dazed as Ritsuka led him into his apartment, replaced the key in his pocket, and set down his bag on the kitchen table. Soubi took off his coat and hung it on the peg next to Ritsuka's and stood there watching Ritsuka busying himself making a pot of tea. Ritsuka put the kettle on the stove to boil and leapt up to sit on the counter. He noticed Soubi just standing there and got down gingerly. Soubi couldn't take his eyes off of Ritsuka as he padded up to him, took him by the hand, and led him over to sit on his bed. Ritsuka straddled Soubi's legs and sat on his lap facing him, staring at Soubi's lips again.

Ritsuka asked, "What do you want to do today?"

Soubi broke out of his trance and looked Ritsuka in the eyes. "Well, I have some tests on color theory to grade, but that's not really what I want to do." Soubi was a professor at the university he once attended. He taught beginners painting.

Ritsuka looked dubious again. Now was as good a time as any to be forward, he supposed. "No, that doesn't sound like it would be very fun." Ritsuka said softly. "But you know what would be?"

"What would be fun, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka's ears twitched and he kissed Soubi fiercely. He coaxed Soubi's mouth open again and massaged his tongue with his own. Soubi's hands clenched into fists and he felt a chill go down his spine. This was the second time today that Ritsuka kissed him like that. He felt Ritsuka's fingers at his throat; they were flicking open the top button of his shirt… then the second one… then the third. Ritsuka kissed down his neck and Soubi clenched his fists even harder, trying with all of his might to stay composed.

"Ritsuka…"

"Hmm?"

"You're driving me crazy, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka stopped kissing his neck and looked into Soubi's eyes. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I don't know. But I don't want to lose control and make you do something you're not ready to do. I'm afraid that might happen." Soubi said quietly.

Ritsuka bit his lower lip and muttered something. This time Soubi really didn't hear him.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"I said, 'but what if I am ready?'" He was staring at Soubi's lips again.

Soubi's lips parted slightly. He was intrigued by what Ritsuka was saying. This was totally out of character for Ritsuka. He seized the opportunity and kissed Soubi again. He pressed himself up against him and they fell back onto the mattress. Ritsuka's fingers were playing over Soubi's bare chest. _When did I lose my shirt? _Soubi thought.

Ritsuka pulled away and rested his forehead against Soubi's. "There's something I need to tell you, Soubi, but I don't know if I can do it." He looked like he was suffering through some internal battle.

"What is it, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked delicately.

"Well, it's something I've wanted to say for a long time, but I wasn't able to. But you saying that I'm driving you crazy I think has made me realize that I can do it."

Silence.

"Soubi, I-"

"SOU-CHAN!! RIC-CHAN!! ARE YOU IN THERE?!"

Ritsuka sat bolt upright, his ears pressed flat against his head and a deadly expression on his face. Kio came bursting through the front door with a bag of beer in one hand and Soubi's spare key that he kept hidden under the welcome mat in the other.

Ritsuka got up off of Soubi's lap and strode across the flat. Soubi sat up and found his shirt underneath him. He put it on and buttoned most of it up, and drew back the curtain separating his 'bedroom' from the rest of the flat. He mentally shook himself.

Ritsuka was fuming. He snatched the beer and the key from Kio. The beer he stuck in the refrigerator. The spare key was shoved in his pants pocket.

"What's up, Kio?" asked Soubi.

"Why are you here, Kio?" asked Ritsuka.

"What, I need a reason to visit my dear friend now?" Kio stammered.

"Yes." Ritsuka said through tight lips.

Kio looked affronted. "I just stopped by to see how Sou-chan was doing."

"I'm fine, Kio." said Soubi. "Would you like some tea? The water's bound to be hot now."

Ritsuka's eyes narrowed, silently daring Kio to accept the invitation."Oh, no, thank you Sou-chan, but I was just in the neighborhood on my way somewhere and I thought I'd peep in to see how you were. I really should get going."

"Yes, you should, if you are on your way somewhere." Ritsuka hissed quietly.

Kio looked scared. "Ric-chan, did I interrupt something important?"

Ritsuka studied him. He was really quite pitiful now. He forced himself to smile. "Nothing at all, Kio. Now, about that tea…."

Ritsuka pranced off to the kitchenette and took three mugs from one of the cabinets. "Soubi is out of tea leaves, we'll have to use bags."

Kio and Soubi exchanged bewildered looks at the sudden change in mood of Ritsuka. He prepared the tea and brought the mugs to the stunned men. "Drink!"

Ritsuka slammed back his tea in three or four gulps and wiped his face on his sleeve. He placed his mug in the sink and disappeared behind the curtain.

"…Ritsuka…?" Soubi asked delicately.

"I'm a bit tired, I think I'll take a nap." Ritsuka hollered back. But he didn't fall asleep. He curled up into a little ball and felt hot tears running down his face.

"Kio, maybe you should go." Soubi said quietly.

"Uh, yeah… nice to see you Sou-chan. Bye bye Ric-chan! Thanks for the tea!" He set down his mug and left the flat, bewildered as ever.

Soubi set down his mug too, relocked the door, and silently crossed the flat. He drew back the curtain and looked at Ritsuka. He had buried his face in Soubi's pillow to hide his tears. He was so close. _Damn you, Kio, _he thought. _I don't know if I can work up the courage again._

He felt Soubi sit down on the edge of the bed. Ritsuka didn't want him to know that he was crying. Soubi placed his hand on Ritsuka's hip and rocked him back and forth gently.

"….Ritsuka….?"

Ritsuka decided it was best to feign sleep and didn't respond. He heard Soubi sigh and felt him settle into the bed next to him with his arms wrapped around him. After a minute or two, Soubi whispered, "I don't like it when you cry, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka gasped audibly. He flung himself around to face Soubi and stared at him. "How do you know I was crying?"

"Because I know you better than anyone else Ritsuka."

Ritsuka nuzzled his head into Soubi's chest and held onto him for dear life. "Kio wrecked everything," he whispered. He dug into his pocket, withdrew the spare key, and placed it in Soubi's hand. "Hide it somewhere better next time, please."

Soubi hesitated. He slid the key back into Ritsuka's pocket. "How about there?"

Ritsuka's eyes flew open and searched Soubi's face for his meaning. "What are you saying?"

"Ritsuka… move in with me."


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: Ritsuka is seventeen and Soubi is twenty-five in this story. Just to clarify. ^^;_

Ritsuka raced home with his head swirling and his heart pounding.

"_Ritsuka… move in with me."_

His body tingled at the thought.

Ritsuka slammed into the front door of his house and fished around for his house key. His fingers found Soubi's. He took it out of his pocket and stared at it.

"Is he serious?"After a few more moments of searching, he found the right key and let himself in. His mother was sitting in the living room. She had become much easier to deal with since he was twelve. She had pretty much given up the thought that her original Ritsuka would come back and instead treated Ritsuka like a distant nephew or a begrudging house guest.

Ritsuka walked into the living room and said gently, "Mom?"

"Yes, Ritsuka?"

"How would you feel about me moving out?" he asked shyly.

His mother blinked. "Well, I can't really stop you. You're nearly an adult. But where will you go?"

"Agatsuma-san offered to share his flat with me."

Ritsuka's mother knew about their relationship and had mixed feelings about it. She sighed, got up, and walked over to Ritsuka. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "If that's what you really want, Ritsuka, I'll support your decision. Agatsuma-san is a good man. I'm sure he will take good care of you. Better care of you than I did when you were young."

Ritsuka blinked. He hadn't expected this. He hugged his mother briefly. "Thank you."

He bounded up the stairs and into his bedroom. He took out his cell phone and dialed a number he knew by heart.

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Soubi sighed audibly. He was still laying in his bed when he felt his phone vibrate insistently in his pocket. He took it out and looked at who the caller was, then answered.

"Soubi?"

"Yes, Ritsuka?"

"Were you serious?" He heard over the line that the boy was out of breath.

"Yes."

"About me moving in with you?"

Soubi smiled. It was just like Ritsuka to want to clarify like this. "Yes."

There was a hesitation on the line. Then Ritsuka said, "My mother is okay with me leaving."

"Really? You asked her?" Soubi was touched.

"Yes…"

"Well… will you?" Soubi asked.

Another hesitation. Then… "…yes."

Soubi was elated. "Would you like some help packing?"

"No, I can handle it. I'm going to leave a lot of the stuff I don't need here. My mother can sell it or whatever."

"Okay. Call me if you need help."

"I will."

He flipped the phone closed and looked around his room. He dug into his closet for his suitcases, three very large suitcases that he had bought with the intention of visiting the world after he graduated from high school. Ritsuka threw them open and tossed all of his clothes haphazardly into one of them. In another, he put all of his books. In the third, he put all of his most prized possessions, like the photos that were hanging on the wall and various knick-knacks that Soubi and his other friends had given him for his birthday and such. It took him about two hours to prune through his possessions to weed out what he didn't want to take with him. When he was finished, he cleaned up his room a bit, and made the bed. Then he called Soubi again.

"Soubi."

"Yes, Ritsuka?"

"I'm finished packing, but I can't bring it all by myself."

"Understood Ritsuka. I'll be there in a moment."

Ritsuka hung up and looked around the now almost empty room. He sighed. _Is this really happening?_

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An hour later, all of Ritsuka's things had meshed seamlessly with Soubi. While Soubi was waiting, he had cleared out half of his dresser and closet for Ritsuka's use. He'd also compacted his book collection so Ritsuka could store his alongside it. The flat hardly looked like it had changed, but there were touches of Ritsuka all over the place. The photos had been pinned to the wall above Soubi's… no, Soubi's and Ritsuka's… bed.

They stood in the middle of the flat just looking at each other.

"Is this really happening? I'm not dreaming, right?" Ritsuka asked, not directed to Soubi in particular but rather the room in general.

Soubi smiled and pulled Ritsuka close to him. "It's really happening, Ritsuka."

"But, why?" Ritsuka always needed to know why.

Soubi hesitated. "Because I love you. I-"

He felt Ritsuka press a finger against his lips, silencing him. "That's the only reason I need."

Ritsuka replaced his finger with his lips, with a kiss full of longing and intensity.

"Man, Yuiko isn't going to shut up about this, you know."

Soubi laughed. "That's ok." He bent down and picked Ritsuka up off of the floor. He had gotten heavier, but Soubi could still do so with ease.

"I want to do something real quick. Come on."

With that, Soubi turned around and Ritsuka wrapped his arms around Soubi's neck. His ears were perked with interest. Soubi was headed for the door.

"What are we doing, Soubi?"

"You need to make a proper entrance into your new house." Soubi said sweetly.

They left the flat and Soubi set Ritsuka down gently on the threshold. Without any questions, Ritsuka knew what to do. He took the key from his pocket and slid it into the lock. He turned it and withdrew it. He looked up at Soubi, who promptly picked him back up, newly-wed style, opened the door, and took him inside. Once inside, he set Ritsuka down and smiled.

"Welcome home, Ritsuka." His lips curled into a smile.

"That was cheesy, Soubi," Ritsuka said indignantly. But there was a note of something else in his voice. Something much deeper and much more lustful.

Without hesitation, Ritsuka launched himself into Soubi's arms and kissed him. Soubi let himself get lost in that kiss. He felt himself being tugged along by Ritsuka as they kissed and knew instinctively where they were going. Ritsuka sat him down much like he had the last time and proceeded cautiously. He kissed down Soubi's neck again and Soubi shivered underneath him. He could feel the heat building up in his groin and he didn't want Ritsuka to think that he'd invited him to live with him just so he'd finally get to take his ears from him. He fought with every fiber of his being to control himself, but it became harder and harder to do so as Ritsuka was unbuttoning his shirt again. He felt cool fingers play against his abs and he whimpered almost inaudibly. The fingers slid around his back under his shirt and clasped together, which resulted in Ritsuka's now trembling body being pressed against Soubi's.

"Ritsuka…" Soubi managed to gasp. His breathing was coming in short, sharp intakes.

"Hmm?" Ritsuka managed as he peppered kisses down Soubi's chest.

"You're making me crazy again."

Ritsuka froze and his toned body flexed. "I have something to say."

Soubi looked inquisitively at Ritsuka.

"What is it?"

Ritsuka flashed a fiery look at Soubi. Ritsuka's face was flushed and he was panting slightly. Soubi clenched his teeth together to quell the temptation.

"Well, its what I was going to say… before… Kio…." His eyes locked onto Soubi's. They were full of emotion.

Soubi just looked at Ritsuka and said, "Just say it, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka bit his lower lip and hesitated. Then he took a deep, steadying breath and said, "Soubi, I… I love you."

Soubi looked like he'd been hit by a bus. He felt himself losing a different kind of control and felt a hot tear slide down his face.

Ritsuka looked at him with concern etched on his face. "What's wrong, Soubi?"

Soubi grabbed Ritsuka around the waist and clung to him. Ritsuka looked bewildered, but pleased.

"I've waited so long to hear you say that."

The pair fell over onto the mattress and held onto each other with an intensity unrivaled.


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: This is where it starts getting steamy. For mature audiences ONLY. It's gonna get pretty hot. :D If you don't like reading about sexy things, I'd suggest you stop reading this fanfiction right about.... NOW. Seriously. This one is just the beginning of the sexy goodness. ^^;_

Ritsuka glanced at the clock on the wall in the kitchen. It was now 7:04 pm. They had been holding each other like that for almost a half hour. He kissed the top of Soubi's head and said, "We should probably have dinner sometime." It wasn't like he was really hungry, he just really enjoyed watching Soubi cook, and he enjoyed eating his food even more.

Soubi broke out of his reverie and nodded. "What shall I make for you, Ritsuka?"Ritsuka put on a thinking face and hesitated. "Hmm…. Minced chicken and burdock root pasta."

"Well, aren't we being specific?" Soubi chuckled. "I haven't made that in a long time. What made you choose it?"

Ritsuka cupped Soubi's face in his hand and pecked him on the lips. "I need to train my tongue."

With that, he gently extracted himself from Soubi, stood up, stretched, and went over to the computer to check his e-mail.

Soubi sat up, his eyes wide. "Whatever you say, Ritsuka."

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Twenty minutes later, they sat down across from each other at the kitchen table and started eating. The flat was silent except for the faint sounds of chewing and the soft music that Ritsuka had turned on when he got on the computer. At the time, he was on a Hindi music kick, and a song called "Eli Re Eli", about a woman being asked out by her lifelong crush, was playing. Ritsuka knew the song by heart and sniggered when he translated the words loosely in his head.

"What is it, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked him.

"This song makes me happy," he replied simply.

"Do you know what the words mean?" Soubi asked.

"Loosely. I don't know the language or anything, though. I just looked up the lyrics."

"What's it about then?" Soubi was actually interested to know.

"It's a story. There's this woman who has loved this man for as long as she's known him, and she's singing about being sad that he hasn't noticed her. At the end of the song though, he comes in and asks her to go out with him, and at the very end, he proposes to her. It's just a really classic love story. It makes me feel good inside." Ritsuka explained with a dreamy smile on his face.

Soubi looked at Ritsuka and chuckled. Ritsuka could be really weird about the music he liked, sometimes. "It sounds like a good story."

Ritsuka didn't say anything. He just looked a Soubi. Then he blushed, looked away, and mumbled, "Yeah."

Soubi worked hard not to laugh at this. Ritsuka couldn't hide what he was thinking from him very well at all. But it made Soubi think. If his suspicions were right, then…. No, he didn't want to get his hopes up about it and have Ritsuka's real thoughts be the polar opposite.

The pair finished eating in silence. Soubi took the plates and set them in the sink. Ritsuka stood up and padded towards the bathtub that was nestled in one corner of the flat, barely concealed by a sheer curtain.

When Soubi turned around to see where he went, he saw Ritsuka's silhouette behind the curtain, slowly stripping down to nothing. He bent down and turned the water on, tested it with his toes, and lowered himself into the bathtub. He laid back and Soubi could hear him sigh gently.

Soubi crossed the flat as quietly as possible to the small linen closet recessed into the wall next to the room that concealed the toilet from the otherwise open air flat. He went over towards the bath and hesitated.

"Ritsuka?"

"Hmm?"

"Here's a towel."

"Oh, right. thanks Soubi."

Soubi could see his silhouette reach towards the curtain while his body was still lounging back. He drew back the curtain a few inches and handed in the towel. He looked at Ritsuka. His eyes were closed and there was a peaceful smile on his face. When he felt the towel touch his fingers, he grabbed it, opened his eyes, and rolled his head over to look at Soubi. Soubi was transfixed. His Ritsuka was naked in their flat. Even though most of him was obscured by the bubbles gently floating on the surface of the water, he could see from Ritsuka's chest up. He drank in his appearance like fine wine. Ritsuka's skin was a gentle peach color with a slight tinge of red from the heat of the bath. His arms had clearly defined muscles and his neck was long, elegant, and slender.

"Is there something wrong, Soubi?" Ritsuka asked sweetly.

Soubi blinked. "No, nothing." He smiled and hesitated.

Ritsuka just looked at him. He dropped the towel that was dangling from his hand and held it out to Soubi.

Bewildered, Soubi clasped his hand and felt Ritsuka yank him towards the bathtub. Ritsuka grabbed onto the front of his shirt and pulled him down to kiss him. "I love you," he whispered in Soubi's ear. "Do you love me?"

Soubi's face flushed and he said, "Of course I love you, Ritsuka. You're my everything."

Ritsuka nibbled on Soubi's ear. Soubi closed his eyes and his jaw fell slack. It felt amazing.

Ritsuka sat up in the bathtub and tugged downwards on Soubi's shirt, making him fall to his knees. He wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him again. His fingers fluttered to the buttons of his shirt and for the third time that day flicked each of them open. Then he slid Soubi's shirt from his shoulders and it landed in a pool on the floor.

Ritsuka pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against Soubi's. He was flushed and out of breath. Soubi could feel Ritsuka's heart beating wildly. Ritsuka closed his eyes and bit his lower lip.

"Soubi."

"Yes?"

"Do you want me?" Ritsuka's voice sounded breathless and full of lust.

Soubi's heart skipped a beat. He closed his eyes and swallowed. "Yes," he whispered.

Ritsuka pulled away slightly, slid the glasses from Soubi's face, and placed them gently on the sill of the tub. He gazed into Soubi's eyes. They were bright and warm. Ritsuka cupped Soubi's face in his hands and pulled him closer. He was slowly rising. Soubi could feel Ritsuka's warm breath playing against his lips. He let Ritsuka pull him up off of the floor, not really comprehending what it meant until he was on his feet again. Then the light bulb flickered on inside of his head and he realized that Ritsuka's slender, naked body was only inches from him. He audibly gasped and his mouth fell open. _Is this really happening?_

_(Sweet, sweet irony, eh?)  
_


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: I'm not really satisfied with the flow of this chapter. If you have any suggestions for how it might flow more smoothly, please put them in a review for me. Thank you in adavance. ^^;_

"Ritsuka…" Soubi gasped when the realization hit him.

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure you want this?" Soubi whispered.

Ritsuka averted his eyes. "Well, we are living together now, aren't we? It's bound to happen sometime. I just figured…"

"What?" Soubi was wide-eyed.

"…I just figured that we might as well jump in head first with the whole… situation." Ritsuka said meekly.

Soubi closed his eyes and turned his head away. He had a pained expression on his face as he said, "We don't have to do that right away if you're not comfortable with it, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka hesitated and gazed off into space. "But… you want to, right?"

Soubi's eyes snapped back onto Ritsuka's face. He saw something there that made him feel horrible. Ritsuka looked terrified. Soubi sighed. "Ritsuka…"

Ritsuka looked at him and his face flushed. He cast his eyes down and his ears drooped.

Soubi winced. His heart throbbed and he thought that it might break. That terrified expression was too much for him to handle. He wanted Ritsuka to be completely comfortable when they took that step. He lifted Ritsuka's chin and studied his face. There were tears welling up at the sides of his eyes. Soubi wrapped his arms around Ritsuka but didn't pull him too close for them to have too much contact.

Ritsuka bent down and picked up the towel, which he wrapped around his waist. Now Soubi felt a little more at ease with hugging him. Ritsuka stepped out of the bath and pulled the plug. He looked at Soubi and launched himself at him, his head nuzzling into his chest. Soubi could feel Ritsuka's tears splashing onto his chest and he was trembling. Soubi wanted to cry too, but he couldn't. He had to be strong for Ritsuka. Instead, he hugged Ritsuka even harder. Ritsuka's whole body was shaking with sobs.

"Ritsuka, please don't cry."Ritsuka sniffled. "Soubi, I'm scared.""I know, Ritsuka. I know. Don't be afraid." He patted the top of his head and kissed him on the forehead. "And Ritsuka, I have a request."

Ritsuka looked up at him. "What?"

"Please put on some clothes. I can hardly control myself." Soubi looked away when he said this.

Ritsuka felt a swell of emotion for Soubi. He knew that Soubi greatly desired him and he was grateful that Soubi had stopped him. He knew that Soubi's composure was about to break, and he knew that Soubi didn't want to hurt Ritsuka. He gently extracted himself from Soubi, went over to the dresser, and pulled on some pajamas while Soubi picked up his shirt and his glasses and put them back on. Ritsuka walked back over to Soubi and he saw that Soubi was crying. He took a deep breath, took Soubi by the hand, and led him over to the couch. Soubi sat down and Ritsuka sat next to him.

"Soubi…"

Soubi blinked and looked at Ritsuka. His face was now full of concern and regret.

"I'm sorry," Ritsuka said softly. He laid his head on Soubi's shoulder and laced his fingers through Soubi's. Ritsuka's ear tickled his chin.

Soubi's expression softened and he smiled as he looked down at Ritsuka, the man he loved more than anyone else. He put his arm around Ritsuka's shoulders and pulled him close. "I'll wait for as long as you need, Ritsuka. I love you. I want you to be comfortable."

"This must be excruciating for you," Ritsuka said. "I know it's causing you pain. I don't want to hurt you."

"Ritsuka, I've endured far worse than this in the past. This isn't pain. Its…."

Ritsuka looked up at him.

"It's just a dull ache. But it would cause me far more pain if I knew you weren't ready and…" His voice cracked and a fresh tear slid down his face. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did that to you."

Ritsuka reached up and wiped away the tears from Soubi's face.

"I don't want you to experience the same pain sensei inflicted on me." Soubi whispered, shaking.

Ritsuka's eyes widened. This was the first time Soubi had ever talked to him about how he lost his virginity. Ritsuka sort of knew in his heart what had happened, but now it was affirmed.

"Soubi…"

Soubi's pseudo-composed façade cracked and he collapsed, shaking and sobbing, into Ritsuka's arms.

Ritsuka was overwhelmed. He sat there, looking down at Soubi's trembling form against him, and didn't know what to say. Soubi had never broken down like this before. He awkwardly patted Soubi on the back softly and kissed the top of his head while softly crooning, "It's ok, Soubi, don't cry, I'm here, don't cry, it's ok…"

Soubi's sobs quieted gradually and he sat up again after a few minutes. His head was bowed and he said, "I'm sorry you had to see that, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka hugged him. "It's ok. I love you, Soubi."

Soubi managed a small smile. He glanced at his watch. It was now ten pm. "You should go to bed, Ritsuka, it's a school night."

Ritsuka looked indignant and didn't move. "I'm not going to sleep and leaving you alone like this."

Ritsuka shifted his position on the couch and lounged back into the corner. He grabbed Soubi by the hand and pulled him towards him. Soubi obliged and laid his head on Ritsuka's shoulder. He sighed tiredly as Ritsuka held him in his arms. "You're beautiful, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka's ears twitched and he kissed Soubi on the top of the head again. "I love you." He could feel Soubi's breathing softening and becoming deep. He was falling asleep in his arms. Ritsuka whispered again, "I love you." He laid his head on top of Soubi's gently and soon fell asleep too.

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Ritsuka woke up before Soubi did. He looked around, confused, and it didn't click right away where he was. Then he felt Soubi's weight on top of him and he remembered. They had hardly moved throughout the whole night, but at some point Ritsuka's hand found Soubi's and their fingers were now laced together loosely. He glanced at Soubi's watch. 6:07 am. He bent down gently and kissed Soubi on the cheek, trying not to move to much and wake up Soubi. When Soubi felt Ritsuka's soft lips on his face though, his eyes fluttered open.

"Good morning," Ritsuka said with a smile.

Soubi groaned and sat up slowly. He rubbed his eyes, stretched his arms, and looked at Ritsuka.

"Hi."

He looked at his watch and got up. Ritsuka stood up too and stretched out his limbs, stifling a yawn behind his hand.

The pair just stood there looking at each other. Soubi smiled and pecked Ritsuka on the lips. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"I usually don't eat breakfast," Ritsuka said.

"I'll make whatever you want."

"Just some coffee, then."Soubi nodded and made his way to the kitchenette. While he was busying himself with the coffee maker, Ritsuka walked up to him and hugged him from behind.

"I'm sorry about last night," he said quietly.

Soubi froze and sighed. "You're not the one who should be sorry, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka hugged him tighter. "Lets put it behind us, is that ok?"

"Yeah," Soubi breathed. He flicked the on switch and the machine sprang to life.

Ritsuka gingerly extracted his arms from Soubi and went towards the bathroom, pausing to turn on the news. He liked to stay informed, and the morning was when his mind was fresh, so he could remember it.

Soubi heard the click of the television, the reporter was saying, "…drought in the eastern part of the country has caused serious crop damages…", and he heard the door to the bathroom open and click shut.

He went towards the bathtub, drew the curtain around it, and stepped in to take a shower.

When he got out, Ritsuka was fully dressed and sitting with his elbows on his knees, staring at the television and holding a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He moved quietly to the dresser and pulled the curtain around the bed to get dressed. Something on the bed caught his attention. Ritsuka had laid out some clothes for him, and had left a note on top.

_Please wear this. It's my favorite. _

Soubi smiled and studied the outfit. It was a salmon colored silk shirt and dark washed jeans. He complied and pulled the outfit on. He also liked this outfit. The silk felt good against his skin.

Soubi pulled back the curtain when he was done dressing and padded over towards the kitchenette, taking a slight detour and grazing his fingertips across the tips of Ritsuka's soft kitty ears as he walked. Ritsuka jumped slightly at the touch and closed his eyes. Soubi was the only one Ritsuka really let touch his ears, and Soubi really seemed to enjoy doing so. The corners of his mouth twitched and he took a sip of his coffee. The weather was on now, and he'd already seen that, so he knew that all of the important news had already gone by. He stood up and turned off the television just as Soubi turned around with his own cup of coffee. Their eyes locked from across the room and both of the men froze. _What now? _Ritsuka thought. _What do I do? I don't have to leave for school for another half hour. _

Soubi answered that question for him. He downed his cup of coffee, turned off the machine, and strode towards the door to pull on his shoes. They were kind of girly; black leather ankle boots with a slight heel. He liked them though, because they made him a little taller, and he liked being just a little taller than Ritsuka. "Come on," he said. "Lets go."

"Where are we going?" Ritsuka studied Soubi's bent form. His long dusty blonde hair cascaded down, obscuring his face. It was cute, Ritsuka thought.

"It's a surprise," Soubi said sweetly.

Ritsuka looked confused but he drank the rest of his coffee quickly and went to retrieve his sneakers just as Soubi pulled on his knee-length purple suede, fur-lined coat. Ritsuka loved the way it looked on Soubi.

Ritsuka donned his own jacket, picked up his messenger bag, and slung it across his torso. He felt it bang against his hip.

Ritsuka felt something in his pocket and took it out. It was his new house key. He withdrew the set of keys he had for his old house and took them off of his key ring. He then put the key to the apartment on it. Ritsuka felt that this simple act had finalized something in his mind.

He also withdrew his cell phone from his pocket and tied the lanyard attached to it to the strap of his bag.

"Ready?" Soubi asked after watching this spectacle.

"Yep. Are you going to tell me where we're going now?"

"No, I don't think so." Soubi said. With that, he turned on his heel and left the apartment.

Ritsuka, confused, locked the door and pulled it closed behind him. _Where on earth are we going so early? _Ritsuka climbed down the stairs slowly. He found Soubi waiting patiently for him on the sidewalk. When Soubi saw him, he outstretched his hand and Ritsuka, now completely bewildered, took it. He let Soubi guide him to wherever they were going. They were heading in the general direction of his school, but Soubi knew that Ritsuka didn't have to be there until eight. It was only 7:15, and it only took about fifteen minutes to get to school from Soubi's… _no_, he corrected in his head, _our _apartment.

Soubi turned off onto a side street and Ritsuka saw a small park at the end of it. He recognized it as the park that he and Soubi had gone to the very first day they met. He didn't know it had an entrance so close to their place.

He looked up at Soubi. He had a serene smile on his face. "Are we going to the park, Soubi?" Ritsuka asked.

"You're too smart for me, Ritsuka. I should have blindfolded you," Soubi replied, laughing quietly.

"But why are we going to the park so early in the morning?"

"To make some memories."

Ritsuka smiled and watched the ground pass under his feet. "I love you, Soubi."

"I love you too, Ritsuka." He slowed his pace and looked thoughtful. "But I also thought that if Yuiko saw the pair of us coming from that particular direction, she wouldn't stop barraging you with questions all day."

Ritsuka smiled. "I'm going to tell her today, anyway."

Soubi's eyes widened. "Really? I thought you wouldn't want to deal with that."

Ritsuka stopped walking. "Eh, she'll be bored by it by lunchtime anyway, because I still have my ears," he said sheepishly. He looked away.

Soubi didn't know what to say. He managed, "She really shouldn't be bugging you about that. It's not very respectful."

"I think she's just embarrassed that hers are gone, so she wants me to join the club."

Soubi stepped closer to Ritsuka and rubbed behind his ears. "Tell her that I think they're adorable, and that's why you're keeping them." He smiled.

Ritsuka couldn't help but grin and his face went red.

Soubi took out his pack of cigarettes and withdrew one, and offered Ritsuka the pack. Ritsuka picked one out and waited for Soubi to find his lighter. Soubi stepped closer so that the tips of the cigarettes hanging from each man's lips were almost touching, and he lit them together. Then he put his arm around Ritsuka's shoulders and guided him towards the park once more.

"Soubi."

"Yes, Ritsuka?" he said, looking over at Ritsuka.

"Why do you let me smoke? I've still got two months before I'm old enough."

"You want me to tell you the truth or not?"

"Tell the truth."

"Because I like the way it smells on you."

Ritsuka grinned. At least they were in accordance there. He pecked Soubi on the cheek.

_Today is going to be an interesting day_, Ritsuka thought.


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: A lot of fluff in this chapter, and storyline development for use in the next chapter. Sorry if it bores you. D:_

He was supposed to be learning English. It was one of his favorite classes. But Ritsuka couldn't concentrate on the book they were assigned to read. It was called "Slaughterhouse Five" by a visionary named Kurt Vonnegut. Ritsuka had already read the book, probably about twenty times. He really enjoyed Kurt Vonnegut's writing style and his sophisticated use of satire. So he was allowing his mind to wander.

Ritsuka was daydreaming again. He was tapping his pen absentmindedly against his desk as his mind returned to earlier that morning, in the park with Soubi. The aim had supposedly been to make some memories, but they hadn't taken one picture. It had primarily been a twenty minute snogging session.

Ritsuka's stomach fluttered and he smiled dreamily. He could almost feel Soubi's warm, soft hands winding through his hair, Soubi's supple tongue exploring his mouth with voracity and gentility at the same time.

Ritsuka wondered to himself where Soubi learned to kiss like that. Just the thought of it caused goosebumps to rise on his flesh and a flush to come to his face. He was glad he'd worn tight fitting pants and a longer shirt that day, or else everyone would be able to see the physical evidence of the subject of his daydreams.

"Ritsuka!"

He snapped out of his reverie and stood up at the sound of his name. "Yes, sensei?"

"Why aren't you reading the book assigned?" the teacher glared at him. For some reason, sensei didn't like Ritsuka, even though he was really good at writing, speaking, and reading English.

"I've already finished it, sensei," he replied calmly. Most of the class was staring at him by that time. He became extremely aware that his face was still flushed. He prayed to whatever deity would listen that his classmates couldn't notice the bulge in his jeans under his shirt.

"Really?" the teacher replied skeptically. "Then you wouldn't mind taking the test on it right now?"

"I'll take it if you wish, sensei," Ritsuka replied, trying to veil his annoyance.

"Sit down, Ritsuka. Turn to page 412 of your textbook and answer all of the questions on the novel that are on that page. When you are finished, bring it up to me for grading."

Ritsuka sighed softly. "Yes, sensei."

He sat slowly and opened up the textbook. He looked at the first question. _What is the name of the main character in Slaughterhouse Five? _Ritsuka rolled his eyes. _You have to be kidding me. Even an idiot would know that._ He sighed and wrote out the question on a piece of notebook paper. Underneath, he wrote 'Billy Pilgrim'.

There were about thirty questions that were similar in difficulty level. He flew through them in ten minutes, closed the text, stood up, and walked up to the teacher's desk. He handed it to Sensei. "Here. I'm all done, sensei." He turned on his heel and went back to his desk. He watched the teacher's expression as she graded the test, her red pen poised and ready to mark an answer wrong in a heartbeat. Her face turned more and more grim as she read, and by the time she reached the bottom of the sheet of paper, her red pen hadn't moved once. She pursed her lips and looked pained as she wrote something on the top of the page. She transferred his grade to her gradebook and called Ritsuka to the front of the class to retrieve his test. Every pair of eyes in the classroom followed him as he walked up and took the paper from sensei. A large _100%_ dominated the top margin and squeezed underneath the teacher had written _I don't know how you do it, Ritsuka-kun._

Ritsuka smirked and walked slowly back to his desk. _Ritsuka: 1. Sensei: 0. Epic win._

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Soubi took a breath and a swig from his water bottle. He was lecturing today on impressionism, and he'd been talking nonstop for about an hour. He looked out into the amphitheater and asked the room, "Does anyone have any questions?"

He scanned the crowd. Most of his students had heavy eyes and looked like they were on the verge of falling asleep. He couldn't see any hands in the air, so he said, "Okay, that'll be it for today. Kindly write a paragraph on an impressionist of your choice, to be turned in Friday. That's two days from now, people. Don't leave it to the last minute."

Soubi turned around and erased the notes he had written on the whiteboard. He heard the general rumble of fifty or so students preparing to leave behind him. He picked up his bag and put his computer, which he had been using to project slides onto the expansive wall of the hall, in it. He glanced at his watch. 2:03 pm. He donned his coat and picked up his bag. He'd stop by home and drop it off before going to pick Ritsuka up from school.

He walked slowly through the university campus, taking a shortcut across the grounds. Students, despite the chill in the air, were lounging against trees, reading books, typing on laptops, and there were a few who had fallen asleep. It made him feel nostalgic for his own university days and he imagined Ritsuka sitting under a tree, his hair blowing in a slight breeze, with a book propped open on his lap. The thought of it made him smile. Ritsuka would be there soon.

He arrived at home and dropped off his bag. He looked at the time again. Apparently he had quickened his pace, because it was now only 2:10. He had twenty minutes to get to the school and he knew it wouldn't take him that long. He figured he'd stop into a convenience store on the way and get a pack of cigarettes and a cappuccino. The cold was getting to him.

He walked in the general direction of the high school. About a block from it, there was a Seven Eleven. Soubi entered and a warm blast of air hit him in the face. It felt good. He smiled at the clerk and walked towards the back of the store. He filled two cups with hazelnut cappuccino and set them on the counter to be rung up.

"Two packs of Newport menthol box 100's, as well, please… and a lighter," he said to the friendly looking clerk.

Seven minutes later he was standing out front of the high school, leaning against the gate. He got there with two minutes to spare. He'd wait until the bell rang to light a cigarette. He wanted to make Ritsuka jealous again. If Ritsuka got jealous, he'd ask for one too. He sipped the cappuccino. It was extremely hot and almost scalded his tongue. His eyes watered and he looked at the small, innocent cup as if it had done him a great personal wrong. Soubi set the cups on the concrete that comprised half of the gate surrounding the high school and pulled out his almost empty pack of cigarettes. He banged it absentmindedly against his palm and slowly withdrew one. He put it in his mouth and lit it just as the dismissal bell rang. He replaced the lighter and pack in his coat and picked up the cappuccinos.

Half a minute later, Ritsuka was there, disheveled and flushed. "Hi," he said breathlessly.

Soubi smiled at him. "Cappuccino?" He held out one of the cups and Ritsuka took it. "Careful, it's really hot, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka nodded and stood there, looking at him. "Do I have to ask?"

Soubi laughed and said, "I have a present for you, Ritsuka." He took out one of the new packs of cigarettes and the lighter he'd just bought and held them out for Ritsuka to take.

He laughed. "You didn't have to do that, Soubi."

"Well, this way, you don't have to bum them off of me," he said, his lip curling.

Ritsuka ripped open the cellophane wrapper, opened the box and pulled out the paper wrapper that was inside. He took his very own cigarette and lit it with his very own lighter. He looked entirely too pleased about being able to do so, in Soubi's opinion.

"Let's go," Ritsuka said after he stowed his presents in his coat pocket.

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A half hour later, Ritsuka and Soubi were cuddling on the couch. There was a movie playing on the television - The Kite Runner. It was one of Ritsuka's favorite movies, and one of the only ones he'd brought with him. The pair wasn't really watching it very attentively, though. Soubi's fingers were absentmindedly scratching behind Ritsuka's ears, and Ritsuka was purring contentedly in his arms. They were chatting quietly.

"Yuiko asked me today if we wanted to go to the mall on Saturday after class."

"What did you say?"

"That I'd ask you if you wanted to go. I don't know why she wants to go shopping with us all of a sudden."

"Do you want to go?"

"I don't know. Do you?"

"If Ritsuka wants to, I want to."

"That's not what I asked."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry."

"I'm sorry."

"What did I just say?"

"Sorry."

Ritsuka smiled. Soubi was messing with him and he knew it.

"Soubi."

"Yes, Ritsuka?"

"Do you want to go?"

"I don't know. I want to be with Ritsuka. If Ritsuka wants to go, I want to go."

"You're weird."

"Am I?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Being weird is ok."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"Oh, then thank you."

"You're welcome."

They continued talking together in the same fashion for almost the whole movie, talking about nothing and everything at the same time.

"Soubi."

Soubi's eyes were closed and he had settled back into the couch.

"Hmm?"

"The movie is over."

He opened his eyes. Ritsuka's head was resting on his chest. He looked at the television. The ending credits were playing. "So it is."

"Soubi."

"Yes, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked as he pressed the off button on the remote. The flat was suddenly silent.

"Let's go on a date."

"Ok. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. Surprise me."

"Ok. When?"

"Right now."

Soubi hesitated. "Alright."

Ritsuka sat up, stretched, and kissed Soubi softly.

"I'm going to go change my clothes. Ok?"

"Ok. When you're done we'll go."

Ritsuka smiled and went over towards the dresser. Soubi racked his brain for date worthy places. They could go to a nice restaurant on the river and walk down the boardwalk. That seemed romantic enough. He got up and found his phonebook on the bookshelf. He opened it and searched for restaurants. He decided on one and called them to make a reservation, speaking in a hushed tone so Ritsuka would be surprised at where they were going.

As soon as he hung up the phone, Ritsuka drew back the curtain. He was wearing a perfectly fitted black suit with a bright purple vest and tie. Soubi got goosebumps. Ritsuka looked so mature and sexy in that.

"Well, if you're wearing that, then I have to change, too," Soubi said.

Ritsuka just smiled. "What do you think?" He spun on the spot, modeling like a woman would to her friends.

"You look amazing, Ritsuka," Soubi said as he stepped towards the closet and withdrew a black suit very similar, only his tie and vest were a light blue. He held it up to Ritsuka. "How about this? We'll match."

Ritsuka nodded and went to put on his shoes. As he stood up, he heard the curtain draw back and Soubi was striding towards him, his jacket flung easily behind his shoulder.

"Sexy," Ritsuka muttered. When Soubi reached him, he flung his arms around him, startling Soubi a bit. Ritsuka kissed him passionately, and straightened Soubi's tie. He felt kind of like a housewife. It turned him on. His face flushed and he extricated himself.

"Let's go, then."

Soubi wrapped a scarf around Ritsuka's neck and said, "It's cold outside. You should wear a coat."

Ritsuka looked at his old worn jacket. "It won't look very good," he said with distaste.

Soubi looked thoughtful. He went back to the closet and pulled out a trench coat much like his purple one, only it was white with black fur lining it. "Wear this."

Ritsuka put it on and buttoned it up. It fit him perfectly.

Soubi smiled. "It suits you."

"Soubi."

"Yes, Ritsuka?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Ritsuka."

With that, the pair left the apartment with their arms wrapped around each other's waist and walked off into the world, completely at ease.


	7. Chapter 7

"Where are we going, Soubi?" Ritsuka asked after they had walked for ten minutes in silence.

"I thought you wanted it to be a surprise," Soubi said and glanced over at Ritsuka. He was looking straight at him and his head was tilted slightly to the side. It was so damn adorable.

"You're right," Ritsuka said, "but can you at least tell me generally?"

"We're going down by the river," Soubi said.

"And what are we going to do there?" Ritsuka's ears perked.

"If I told you that, it would ruin the surprise," Soubi turned his head to look at Ritsuka. _So cute._

Ritsuka flashed a dazzling smile at Soubi and he felt his heart melt. Ritsuka knew how to make him tell him what he wanted.

"We're going to a place called the Junction Buoy," Soubi said. So much for surprises. He made a mental note to never look straight at Ritsuka again when he was interrogating him.

"Is that a restaurant?" Ritsuka asked sweetly.

"Yes," said Soubi, begrudgingly. He couldn't keep anything, even something so trivial as this, from his Ritsuka.

"Lovely," Ritsuka said.

After five more minutes of walking they reached the restaurant. Soubi held the door open for Ritsuka but Ritsuka grabbed his hand and pulled him in next to him. Soubi was intrigued.

At the front of the restaurant the hostess stood behind a small podium. She said politely, "Good evening, sirs. Do you have a reservation?"

Soubi spoke up. "Yes. Table for two reserved to Agatsuma Soubi."

Ritsuka looked at him. "When did you make a reservation?"

"While you were changing," he said with a playful little smile.

The hostess led them to their table. It was secluded in a corner that had windows looking out to the water. "May I take your coats to the concierge?"

The men smiled. "Please." They took off their almost identical coats and sat down across from each other. Ritsuka's eyes glowed brightly in the light from the small votive candle in the middle of the table.

"Your waiter will be with you in a moment," the hostess said, turned around, and took their coats to the coat check.

Ritsuka looked around the place. It had a nautical theme, which was to be expected, but layered in were feminine touches like fresh red roses on each table and an elegant wine list displayed near the door.

Their waiter was there before Ritsuka had finished taking in the whole scene. He said, "Good evening, gentlemen. May I recommend one of our fine wines to you today?"

Soubi smiled and said, "We'll have a bottle of chardonnay, please."

"Of course, sir." The waiter excused himself and went to fetch a bottle from the wine refrigerator.

"I've never had wine," Ritsuka said sheepishly. "Is it good?"

"You'll just have to taste it, Rituska." Soubi said softly. "If you don't like it I'll order something else."

Ritsuka flashed him another dazzling smile. Soubi thought he might have a heart attack.

The waiter returned a moment later with a bucket of ice in which was nestled a bottle. He held it by the neck in a towel and popped the cork for them, then set it back in the ice bucket. "I'll bring you a menu in a moment." Soubi thanked him and took out the bottle of wine. Ritsuka held up his wine glass and Soubi poured him a small measure. "Taste it."

Ritsuka held the glass up to his nose and smelled it. "It smells weird," he said.

Soubi laughed quietly as Ritsuka took a sip. His nose wrinkled and he licked his lips.

"That's weird."

"Do you not like it?" Soubi asked.

"No, I think I like it. It's just weird because I've never had it before." Ritsuka took another sip, then held his glass out to Soubi. Soubi laughed again and filled the glass. Then he picked up his own , filled it, and held it up to Ritsuka.

"A toast," Soubi said.

Ritsuka looked at him inquisitively.

"I love you, Ritsuka." They clinked glasses and drank simultaneously. Ritsuka felt a warmth spread through his body and his face took on a slight pink tinge.

He set down his glass and laid his hands on the table, palms up, towards Soubi.

Soubi raised his eyebrows and put his hands in Ritsuka's.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Soubi looked confused.

"For taking me out tonight." Ritsuka blushed.

"That's what lovers do, right?" Soubi asked delicately. He thought that he might be pushing his luck by saying lovers.

Ritsuka's eyes found Soubi's. "That's right."

Soubi couldn't take his eyes off of Ritsuka the entire time they were in the restaurant. He found it extremely sensual the way Ritsuka ate and drank. There was an elegance about it that he found incredibly sexy.

When they were through, the pair left the restaurant arm in arm. "Where are we going now?"

"Lets go for a walk on the boardwalk."

"Sounds romantic." Ritsuka beamed.

Soubi glanced furtively at his watch. It was 8:39 pm. The sun would be setting soon, and he wanted to watch it go down with Ritsuka.

They walked along the edge of the water. Soubi put his arm around Ritsuka's shoulders and Ritsuka's head rested on Soubi's shoulder as they walked, his arm wrapped behind Soubi's soon came upon other couples, sitting on the benches, kissing, or else walking down the boardwalk in much the same manner as Ritsuka and Soubi were.

Soubi guided Ritsuka up a small hill to a bench under an elm tree.

They sat down next to each other and gazed out over the water, not needing to say anything. They were completely comfortable just sitting there together, sharing each other's warmth, watching the evening sun dance across the waves as it made it's slow, glowing descent. Just before the sun had completely disappeared, it's rays caused the sky to turn fiery pink and orange. It was beautiful. Ritsuka snuggled close to Soubi and gently squeezed his hand. A moment later - or it might have been an eternity - the sun disappeared behind the curve of the earth and Ritsuka tore his eyes from the water to look at Soubi. He had a serene smile on his face and was gazing out into space. Ritsuka kissed him gently on the cheek and the spot burned.

"Thank you."

Soubi turned his head to look at Ritsuka. He lifted his chin and pecked on the lips. "Did that live up to your expectations?"

"It was the most wonderful night I've ever had," Ritsuka breathed.

Soubi's stomach fluttered and he slowly got up. He held his hand out to Ritsuka, who took it and stood up too. "Would you like to dance?" Soubi said.

"There's no music, Soubi," Ritsuka said, stating the obvious.

"Yes there is," Soubi said quietly, and he placed his hand above Ritsuka's heart, "in here."

Ritsuka giggled. "That's really cheesy, Soubi, but really romantic. Ok, lets dance."

Ritsuka wrapped his arms around Soubi's neck and Soubi placed his hands around Ritsuka's waist, pulling him close enough to feel the rhythm of Ritsuka's breathing. The pair swayed to a love song that only they could hear while gazing into each other's eyes. They didn't need to speak. Everything that needed to be said was supplied instantly in their eyes and in the movement of their bodies, perfectly in sync. There was nothing else in the entire world, just Ritsuka and Soubi, hopelessly devoted.

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Ritsuka pulled out his key as they climbed the stairs up to their apartment. He wanted to be the gentleman, now, after being treated with such courtliness by Soubi. He held the door open for his partner, who grasped his hand on the way in and pulled him in after him. Ritsuka pulled the door shut with him and flicked the lock.

Soubi then pulled him into a tight embrace and kissed him. It was a kiss full of love, passion, commitment, and devotion. Ritsuka swooned and Soubi held him against him, supporting his full weight. Ritsuka allowed himself to be swept off of his feet and cradled in Soubi's arms. Soubi took him over to the bed and laid him down as if he was easily breakable. Ritsuka locked his fingers behind Soubi's neck and pulled him down with him.

In a split second, Ritsuka was on top of him, exploring Soubi's mouth with his soft tongue. Soubi closed his eyes and his fingers moved seemingly of their own accord to get lost in Ritsuka's hair. Ritsuka laid down completely on top of Soubi. Soubi felt his heart beating erratically in his chest and figured that his probably was too. Ritsuka's face was flushed and his hands clung to Soubi for dear life as they kissed.

Ritsuka broke the kiss and tilted his head to kiss down Soubi's neck. He nibbled on Soubi's ear and Soubi's hands, which had moved to the small of Ritsuka's back, clenched. He felt the heat growing in his groin and groaned. With a swift movement, he flipped them over on the mattress and his hair cascaded around his face, tickling Ritsuka's human ears.

Soubi put his weight on his knees and his hands with the intention of separating his pelvis from Ritsuka's, but Ritsuka pressed up against him adamantly. He resumed his nibbling of Soubi's ear. Soubi shut his eyes tight and his teeth clenched.

"Ritsuka…" he managed.

"Sou -- bi…" Ritsuka whispered between bites.

"Ritsuka… you're going to make me… you're going to make me hard, Ritsuka." His hands balled up into fists in the sheet and he felt his toes curl.

Ritsuka stopped nibbling his ear and looked into his eyes. Soubi was instantly stunned. He saw none of the emotions that Ritsuka had been feeling the last time. Now, his eyes were warm, welcoming, and a little more than lustful.

"Soubi… I'm ready."


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: This chapter took me a lot longer that I expected it would. I could hardly stay focused. :3 I tried to put everything delicately so it didn't sound like I was writing hardcore pr0nz. I'm sorry if it offends you as it is now. ^^;_

_LEMON STARTS HERE._

Soubi felt every last ounce of reserve melt away from him and he shed his coat, suit jacket, and vest. He placed his hand on Ritsuka's inner thigh and buried his face in Ritsuka's neck. Ritsuka's fingers were loosening Soubi's tie. They deftly undid the knot and pulled it from around Soubi's neck. Soubi was fumbling with the buttons of Ritsuka's coat and he reached down to help him. He sat up and removed it, along with his own vest, jacket, and tie. But Ritsuka didn't stop there. His fingers flew down shirt buttons, both Soubi's and his own, and in moments, they were shirtless, skin against trembling skin.

Ritsuka laid back down and whimpered. Soubi was now licking and kissing and biting in a line down Ritsuka's chest.

Ritsuka felt flustered and he looped his thumbs into Soubi's pants, softly caressing the skin under the waistband. Soubi shuddered with his touch and his tongue found one of Ritsuka's nipples. He swirled his tongue around it, causing Ritsuka to pant. His body was on fire and it felt like all of the blood in his body was flowing in the wrong direction.

Soubi glanced up at Ritsuka. His head was tilted back into the pillows, his eyes closed, biting his lower lip. He moved to the other nipple and performed the same work on it.

A moan escaped Ritsuka's lips and his fingers fumbled with Soubi's button and zipper. His knuckles grazed against Soubi's groin and the older man visibly shivered.

Ritsuka grabbed Soubi's pants by the belt loops and tugged downwards. They slid from his hips and fell to around his knees. Soubi paused, leaned back, and removed them completely. When he turned back to Ritsuka, his pants were undone and Soubi could see a bulge there under Ritsuka's briefs. Ritsuka raised his hips and allowed Soubi to slide them off of him. Ritsuka leaned up on his elbows and gazed at Soubi. His cheeks were pink, his mouth slightly open.

Soubi was grazing his fingertips up and down Ritsuka's abdomen. The muscles clenched when they found a small patch of skin directly above his belly button.

"Soubi," Ritsuka breathed, trying to push his hand away from the spot, "not there… that's…"

Soubi grinned and bent down to kiss the spot. Ritsuka gasped. He felt his whole body tense and his chest turned a pink color that matched his cheeks.

Soubi dipped his tongue into Ritsuka's belly button and slid it down to the waistband of his underwear. His index fingers looped under it and Ritsuka tingled when he felt them against his skin.

Ritsuka didn't have any control over his hands anymore. They slid to cover Soubi's and coaxed them down, pulling his underwear off of his hips. Slowly, inch by inch, everything Ritsuka had was laid bare, standing erect. Ritsuka took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Soubi was staring.

Soubi's eyes wandered reluctantly up to Ritsuka's face.

"Ritsuka."

Ritsuka didn't say anything. Soubi leaned down, fabric touching soft skin, and kissed him. "Ritsuka, look at me."

Ritsuka's eyes snapped open and locked into Soubi's. He was sitting back up. Slowly, his fingers moved to his waistband and tugged down in a swift motion. In a split second, Soubi was completely naked.

Ritsuka's eyes slid down Soubi's body. His skin was flush and a little moist. They wandered further downwards and widened when they reached Soubi's pelvis.

Ritsuka whimpered and tensed. He tore his eyes away and looked Soubi in the eyes, and a spark passed between them, an unsaid declaration of their intentions.

Soubi pounced on Ritsuka, pinning to the bed. Ritsuka started when he felt Soubi's manhood rubbing up against his own. He was shaking almost violently with anticipation and sexual frustration. Almost three years worth of want had been building up inside of his fragile body, and he was on the verge of satisfying it.

Ritsuka gyrated his hips against Soubi and he groaned. Soubi was in a frenzy. He urgently slurped at Ritsuka's neck and slid down until his mouth was level with Ritsuka's member. Soubi flicked out his tongue and lapped at the head, sending a shiver down Ritsuka's spine. He loosened his mouth and took in all of Ritsuka.

"Soubi…" Ritsuka gasped. His hands were clawing into the sheet.

Soubi looked up at him with an angelic expression on his face. The sight of Ritsuka in ecstasy like that made him moan. Who was this sexually mature man under him, so in tune with the pleasures of the body? He pumped faster, his tongue swirling around and around. Ritsuka's hips were rising to meet him with each pump, and soft moans were escaping his lips.

Ritsuka could hardly breathe. He never imagined that something like that would feel so damned good. His body was so tense that he thought he might implode. _I need to relax, _he thought. He cast his eyes around the flat, looking for anything and everything that would distract him. But Ritsuka's eyes just kept returning to Soubi. He closed his eyes and gulped.

Just as he reached the breaking point, all of the tension melted from his limbs and he sank into the mattress with a shuddering breath. Ritsuka closed his eyes and focused on the feel of Soubi's mouth around him, caressing him. He felt pressure building up in his groin and he knew that he was close.

"Soubi… I'm gonna…." Ritsuka moaned.

Soubi didn't budge. He went at it with even greater voracity.

"Soubi… please…. I'm gonna…. gonna come…" Ritsuka groaned and his hips bucked. Soubi held him down and sucked down every last drop.

After a minute or two, Ritsuka's body lost all tension and he just laid there with a small smile on his face, his eyes closed.

Soubi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and leaned over Ritsuka, kissing him softly.

Ritsuka's eyes fluttered open and his ears parted down the middle. He eyed Soubi as if he were suspicious.

Ritsuka was on top of him before he knew it, peppering kisses down his chest and stomach.

It clicked in Soubi's mind what he was going to do and he looked flummoxed.

"Ritsuka, you don't have to do that…" he muttered. Truthfully, Soubi's desires were satiated the moment he felt Ritsuka's juices explode into his mouth.

Ritsuka ignored him and took all of Soubi in at once. Soubi felt himself pushing against the back of Ritsuka's throat and he shivered.

He started to bob his head up and down, using the same technique that Soubi had used on him. Within minutes, Soubi felt the pressure and groaned. Soubi sat up and leaned back on one elbow. He wound his fingers through Ritsuka's hair. When he couldn't hold it back anymore, Soubi whispered, "Ritsuka…. I'm gonna come now…"

Ritsuka didn't budge. If you could say one thing about the pair, they were definitely adamant. He kept pumping. Soubi's toes curled and he let out a guttural sound that was kind of like "augh!" His body tensed and his head was thrown back in ecstasy as he came into Ritsuka's waiting mouth.

Ritsuka had never tasted anything like it. He liked the way it felt against his tongue and swallowed slowly, savoring every drop. His tongue flicked out to lick his lips.

Soubi was thrown back against the mattress, his chest heaving. Ritsuka crawled up beside him and kissed his forehead.

"I love you Soubi," he said.

"I love you too, Ritsuka," Soubi breathed. "Damn."

"Soubi…" Ritsuka began hesitantly, "… do you want to… continue?"

Soubi turned his head to look at Ritsuka. He was still flushed and was panting slightly, and his eyes betrayed the lust he still felt.

"Do you?"

"Yes," Ritsuka whispered. "I want you to…."

A hesitation….

"…enter me."


	9. Chapter 9

_AN: Sorry that this chapter is so short. To make up for it, chapter ten is a little bit longer than usual.  
Incidentally, can homosexuals get married in Japan? ^^;_

Soubi hesitated. "Are you sure? It will hurt."

Ritsuka was laying on his back with his legs spread wide, a pillow under his hips to elevate him. Soubi was poised at Ritsuka's entrance, already lubed and ready to go, his hands resting easily on Ritsuka's thighs.

Ritsuka gulped and nodded. "Just go slow, okay?"

Soubi took in Ritsuka's appearance. This was probably one of the last times he'd see Ritsuka with his adorable little cat ears and tail paired with such an aroused look. He grunted his consent and looped his arms under Ritsuka's thighs, lifting him up slightly. He pressed his head against Ritsuka's opening, gradually applying more pressure. Ritsuka's face was screwed up and he was breathing heavily, but not a sound escaped his lips. Soubi kept his eyes on Ritsuka's face, searching constantly for any pleas for him to stop that would be betrayed there. He found none, though. Ritsuka looked more like he was concentrating hard on something than in pain, and Soubi kept pushing in.

After a few minutes, Soubi broke through the barrier and his head was completely inside of Ritsuka. He paused and asked, "Are you ok, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka nodded, his eyes shut tight and a set expression on his face. "Keep going." His voice was hoarse.

It was easier for Soubi to slide in now, and he did so a little more quickly. Within a minute, he was halfway inside. He felt himself push against a ring of muscle and he couldn't move any farther. "Ritsuka, you have to relax or I won't be able to go any farther."

Ritsuka took a few rattling breaths through his mouth and his face lost all tension. His entire body went limp.

Soubi continued until he was all the way inside.

"I'm going to move now, okay?"

Ritsuka nodded and his spine tingled as he felt Soubi sliding back and forth, just a few inches, excruciatingly slow, inside of him.

"Soubi, go faster."

Soubi obliged.

Ritsuka shivered and his hand, which had been resting on his stomach, meandered down to fondle his manhood. A small smile played on his face and he whimpered.

Soubi was having difficulty keeping himself controlled. He didn't want to hurt Ritsuka by going too fast or by pulling out too much, but the sight of Ritsuka under him, gingerly stroking himself, made him crazy. He grunted and thrust a little harder into Ritsuka, and Ritsuka just moaned.

"Do that again."

Soubi's hips pounded into Ritsuka with a lot more force than Soubi had originally intended. Ritsuka's back arched and he stroked himself faster.

He couldn't control himself any longer. He pulled almost all the way out of Ritsuka and slammed himself back in with a groan. Ritsuka moaned loudly and shuddered.

Soubi no longer had control of his pelvis. It just kept ramming in, harder and harder, faster and faster. He could feel Ritsuka trembling underneath him and could hear his breathy groans with each pump.

Soubi bent down and wrapped his arms around Ritsuka, and the pair was flipped over delicately, making sure not to become unconnected. Soubi was sitting up and Ritsuka was in his lap, straddling him, bouncing up and down with his arms wrapped around Soubi's neck. Soubi felt Ritsuka rubbing up against his abdomen and he reached down to stroke him in time. Ritsuka's body was slippery with perspiration and his skin glided easily against Soubi's.

Soubi buried his face in Ritsuka's neck. He caressed the skin with his tongue and bit him softly. Rituska tensed and he squeezed Soubi inside of him. It made it harder to move inside of him, but Ritsuka persisted, thrusting Soubi into him harder. He was clawing at Soubi's back.

Soubi felt himself getting close and he stroked Ritsuka faster. He debated about pulling out, but, as if he'd read his mind, Ritsuka whispered, "Come… inside."

Soubi groaned and exploded inside of Ritsuka, and a few seconds later, Ritsuka came too; it splattered all over his and Soubi's abs.

The pair fell over onto the mattress, exhausted. Ritsuka lifted his hips and gently extracted himself. He felt a trickle of sticky ooze escape him and sighed.

Soubi reached up and removed Ritsuka's ears from his head. His tail had already disappeared. Ritsuka rubbed the spots where his ears were--now, it was just like the rest of his scalp.

"Weird," was all that he said.

Soubi laughed and kissed him quickly. "You're still adorable, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka blushed and got up off of Soubi. He held out his hand to him. "Come on, we're a mess. Let's take a shower together."

Soubi smiled, got up, and pulled Ritsuka into a tight embrace.

Ritsuka kissed him and sarcastically frowned. "If we stay like this, we're gonna get stuck together."

Soubi grinned. The splatter on their stomachs was already congealing and getting sticky. "Ok, lets take a shower."

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A half hour later, the pair had changed the sheets of the bed and were lying in it, cuddling like newlyweds.

"Soubi."

"Yes, Ritsuka?"

"I love you, Soubi."

"I love you too, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka sat up, his eyes wide. He looked at Soubi, lounging back with his head on his arm.

"Yuiko is going to freak."

Soubi smiled an easy smile. "Do you want me to get you a pair of fake ears?"

"No," Ritsuka said sternly. "That would be like betraying you."

Soubi looked thoughtful. "I don't think I'd mind." He sat up, too, and kissed Ritsuka on the neck. "If I bought you fake ears…" another kiss… "then you could lose them…" another… "again…" another… "and again…" another… "and again."

Ritsuka looked dubious. "Well then they'd just be for at home. I wouldn't want to wear them out of the house. They'd just be for you."

Soubi laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm touched."

Ritsuka pounced on him and buried him in kisses.

"Let's buy some fake ears when we go the mall with Yuiko on Saturday."

"Oh, we're going?"

"We are now." Ritsuka laid his head on Soubi's shoulder, and Soubi wrapped his arm around Ritsuka's shoulders.

"Thank you."

Ritsuka glanced up at Soubi. "For what?"

"For letting me have your ears."

Ritsuka blushed. "I wouldn't want to give them to anyone else."

Soubi's face filled with emotion.

"Ritsuka, I've been wondering about something."

"Hmm?"

"That song we were listening to the other night at dinner--the one in Hindi… why do you like it so much?"

Ritsuka looked thoughtful. "I don't really know. It just makes me feel good inside. And it makes me think about things."

"What do you think about?"

Ritsuka's face turned beet red. "Getting married."

Soubi hesitated. "What do you mean?"

Ritsuka took a deep, steadying breath. "I mean, it makes me wonder if I'll ever get married."

Soubi studied Ritsuka's face. He saw in his eyes that Ritsuka was trying to hide something from him. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"I wonder about that sometimes too."

There was a long silence after that, during which Ritsuka's brain presented him images of him and Soubi standing under a white archway, hand in hand, surrounded by white roses and all of the people he'd grown to love. The thought of it made his stomach do back flips.

"Soubi?" he said quietly. Soubi didn't answer him back. He'd fallen asleep with his head resting on Ritsuka's.

Ritsuka smiled and whispered, "Good night, Soubi."

He let himself fall into the world of dreams.


	10. Chapter 10

BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!

Ritsuka and Soubi awoke with a start. Ritsuka's alarm clock was going off on the bookshelf. He groaned and extracted himself from Soubi, then walked over and shut it off by slamming his hand down on the top of it.

He was still exhausted, but his mind was refreshed. He was also a little annoyed, because he had been having a amazing dream about Soubi.

"Ugh. Stupid alarm clock."

Ritsuka rubbed his eyes and felt the top of his head. It was so strange to not have furry little appendages sprouting there.

Soubi sat up and stretched out his limbs. Ritsuka went back to the bed and sat down on the edge, planting an innocent kiss on Soubi's cheek. "You don't have to get up, Soubi. I can manage going to school by myself. I'm a big boy, now," he said with a sheepish grin.

Soubi ignored him, got up, and went over to the kitchenette.

"Coffee?"

Ritsuka came up behind him and hugged him. "That's fine. I'm gonna go get dressed."

Soubi nodded, but Ritsuka lingered, holding him from behind. He rested his chin on Soubi's shoulder and sighed"Is there anything wrong, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked with concern in his voice.

"No, just let me hold you a little bit."

Soubi smiled and reached back to place a hand on the side of Ritsuka's head. They were the perfect picture of domesticity, and it made Soubi think about the future. He wondered where their relationship was going, but he didn't really want to talk to Ritsuka about it for fear of being denied. He imagined himself staying with Ritsuka for the rest of his life, as they were, but he knew that wasn't realistic. Ritsuka had just said last night that he wondered if he'd ever get married. He shivered at the thought of marrying Ritsuka, and an image of them, old and shriveled in rocking chairs on the porch of an immense house , swam before his eyes. He'd have to figure out what Ritsuka was thinking of when he thought of getting married. The question was how to do it. Soubi made a mental note to put serious energy into finding a way.

Soubi hadn't noticed that Ritsuka had left him. He was over at the dresser, pulling off his pajamas. He hadn't bothered pulling the curtain around the bed. Soubi was touched that Ritsuka was so comfortable with exposing himself in their apartment now; an unconscious side effect of their new level of intimacy.

Soubi went over to the television and turned it on for Ritsuka. _The news, _Soubi thought, shaking his head. _What a weird kid._

Ritsuka was now wandering around the flat like a zombie in just his underpants, moving towards the now completely percolated coffee. _Today is going to be strange_, he thought.

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Soubi and Ritsuka walked with their fingers laced easily towards the school, each with a cigarette in his opposite hand. All of the tension had left them the previous evening, and each man was lost in his own thoughts as they walked.

Ritsuka saw Yuiko approaching as they neared the high school gate. When she saw him, she ran at him and glomped him.

"RITSUKA-KUN!!!!"

Ritsuka rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smiling. Soubi just stood there, looking on with a slight smirk on his face.

"If this is how it's going to be all day, maybe I should just go home," Ritsuka grumbled.

Yuiko extracted herself from Ritsuka and grinned. "I'm so happy for you, Ritsuka-kun!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Was it fun?"

Ritsuka blushed, but he laughed. "What did you think?"

Yuiko's face went red and she didn't say anything. Instead, she reached up and rubbed the spot where his ears used to be. "It's so weird to see you without your ears!"

"Cut it out, Yuiko!"

_Yep, today is going to be a blast._

Ritsuka walked through the halls to the sound of hushed whispers and giggles. It was always an event when someone came to school without his or her ears, but this was entirely different, because most of his classmates by now knew that he was with another man. Girls were giggling and talking to their friends behind their hands as he walked past, and most of the guys just stared at him, either with disgust or curiosity.

Ritsuka kept his face unreadable, even though all of these people talking about him was driving him crazy. He didn't like having so much attention drawn to him for such a personal reason. He willed himself to put on a happy face, grit his teeth, and get through the day without blowing up on someone.

Yayoi showed up in front of him all of a sudden in a huff. "Aoyagi-kun!" He still hadn't stopped calling him by his last name even though they'd been friends since they were twelve.

Ritsuka jumped back, startled. "Yes?"

"You… you… you…" Yayoi spluttered. His eyes flicked to Ritsuka's head and back down to his face.

Ritsuka smiled inwardly. "It's not like you're exactly a prude, Yayoi. What are you so upset about?"

Yayoi flushed and looked down. He held out his hand to Ritsuka to shake. "Congratulations on becoming an adult."

Ritsuka laughed. He'd had the mindset of an adult for years, his physicality just didn't prove it.

"Thanks, Yayoi." _Maybe I'll be able to get through this day ok, after all._

"So Yayoi, are you coming to the mall with Soubi, Yuiko and me this Saturday?" Ritsuka asked as they walked towards their first class, trying to lessen the awkwardness that seemed to have fallen between them.

"Oh, yes, Yuiko-san just now invited me. She was really excited that you accepted."

"Yeah, well, that's Yuiko for you."

They entered the classroom to a fresh wave of hushed talking and giggles. Every pair of eyes in the room locked onto Ritsuka and he suppressed a sigh as he took his seat near the back of the class. Sensei wouldn't allow everyone to be looking back at him all hour, so he thought it was a pretty strategic spot.

It didn't stop them from trying, though. The class was completely detached from the lecture they were supposed to be listening to and taking notes on. They furtively glanced over their shoulders when they thought that Sensei wouldn't notice it, and he hardly ever did. Ritsuka, meanwhile, was detached for a completely different reason. His mind kept returning to last night, and every time that happened a dopey, romantic smile would stretch across his face. This only caused more whispers and giggles as the class was released from the obligation to listen during private working time. Ritsuka sighed aloud this time, and absently chewed on the end of his pencil. Why couldn't people just leave others' personal lives alone?

Ritsuka was completely fed up with people by lunchtime and simply walked out of the school, promising halfheartedly to Yuiko that he'd call her later.

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Soubi didn't have any classes to teach on Thursdays, so he returned to his apartment after dropping off Ritsuka with a soft kiss and the promise of seeing him at 2:30. He didn't really know what to do with himself on his days off, so most of the time he'd just lounge around and watch television or the occasional movie. Today, though, he was too full of thoughts to focus on anything, even something as mundane as television watching. He sat on the couch with a cup of coffee, smoking a cigarette. He felt like painting again.

It had been about a year since Soubi had actually painted anything. He'd taught his students brush strokes and techniques, but he hadn't painted just to create beauty. He rummaged around in his linen closet for the forgotten set of brushes and oils hidden there. He withdrew a canvas from under his bed and set it on the dusty easel in front of the sliding glass door out to his balcony. He held his brush poised, ready to go, but he was drawing a blank. He closed his eyes and dipped his brush in whichever color it contacted first, and slashed the brush across the canvas. He opened his eyes and gasped. It was the exact color of Ritsuka's eyes, and was a sensual curve that reminded him of someone laying on their side. Something clicked in his head and he dipped his brush again, this time into a light peach color. He'd had inspiration this whole time, he just hadn't realized it.

Soubi heard soft footfalls on the landing outside the flat and a click as a key was inserted and withdrawn. He couldn't believe his eyes as Ritsuka walked in, glowing and pink from the cold. "I'm home," he said. His eyes fell on the canvas in front of Soubi, obscured by his form. "Oh, you're painting? It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, but I suddenly felt the urge to. But Ritsuka, why are you home so early?"

"I couldn't stand people anymore," he said sheepishly, looking towards the kitchenette. "Oh good, the coffee is still on."

"It's probably burnt by now."

"I don't care. I need some caffeine."

He sat his bag down on one of the kitchen chairs after shedding his coat and shoes at the entrance. Ritsuka poured himself a cup of coffee and went to look over Soubi's shoulder at what he was painting. He gasped as he saw a long, lean, naked body laying on it's side, a sheer sheet covering from it's hips down. He tingled as he saw the outline of a face, not completely painted in yet, that looked extraordinarily like his.

"Soubi. You're painting _me_?"

Soubi's complexion reddened a bit as he mumbled, "Yes."

"Soubi… I'm touched." His eyes filled with emotion.

"It's not done yet," Soubi stammered. "It was supposed to be a surprise for you when you got home."

Ritsuka glowed. "It's beautiful even incomplete, Soubi. But there's something missing."

"Hmm?" He thought he'd gotten every detail. An image of Ritsuka naked and aroused was burned into his memory.

"You should be in there, too. "

He grabbed a pencil and drew a rough shape behind the Ritsuka in the painting. The graphite Soubi had his hand on the paint Ritsuka's hip and was kissing his shoulder.

Soubi looked at it thoughtfully. "I think I can work that in."

"Good," Ritsuka said happily. "Then when you're done, we can hang it up somewhere in here. Somewhere we'll see it every time we come home."

Soubi smiled and kissed his forehead. "As you wish, Ritsuka." A hesitation. "So… do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" asked Ritsuka, confused.

"The people at school."

Ritsuka looked down. "Not really. They just piss me off, that's all."

"Why is that?" Soubi asked, turning to face Ritsuka, looking concerned.

"I couldn't even walk down the hall without hearing about me losing my ears about a million times."

"Kids will be kids, Ritsuka. You shouldn't let it bother you too much."

"I know, I know, but it's just kind of disrespectful, isn't it?"

"You're right, it is. But lets face it, we're a pretty intriguing couple."

Ritsuka looked at him, five years his senior and a man. "We are. But that doesn't give people the right to sensationalize something so… so personal." Ritsuka looked pained. Despite all of the leaps and bounds he'd taken with expressing his feelings for Soubi, he was still slightly embarrassed about doing it in public.

Soubi pulled him close and hugged him. "Screw what the world says, Ritsuka. Don't you worry your adorable little head over what people think. When two people are in love, they shouldn't have to be embarrassed by it."

Something Soubi said hit home with Ritsuka, and a tear slid down his face. "I'm sorry," he stammered.

"What are you sorry for?" Soubi wiped away the tear from Ritsuka's cheek and rested his forehead against his.

"For being embarrassed by it. I feel like I've betrayed you." Another tear slid down his face.

"You haven't betrayed me Ritsuka. It takes time to get comfortable with who you are. You're still in high school, and you've pretty much come to terms with who you are. That's very admirable."

Ritsuka took a shuddering breath and buried his face in Soubi's shoulder, sobbing. Soubi held him close and felt his heart twinge.

"Please don't cry, Ritsuka."

"Soubi… I love you."

"I love you too, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka raised his head, and his face was set. Without a word, he grabbed Soubi by the hand and dragged him towards the door.

"You might want to put on shoes."

"Where are we going, Ritsuka?" asked Soubi, bewildered.

"You'll see."

Ritsuka donned his coat and dragged Soubi out the door, towards his school. They arrived at the front gate and Ritsuka kept pulling Soubi with him into the school, into the lunchroom. He stood up on a table and shouted for quiet. Five hundred pairs of eyes fell upon him.

"I love this man," he said, indicating to Soubi, who waved, smiling, even though he was flabbergasted. That was all he said, then he leapt at Soubi and kissed him full on the mouth, in front of everyone who attended the school.

Slowly, whispering ensued, along with some wolf whistles and a whole lot of giggling. When Ritsuka pulled away from Soubi, there were people clapping and whooping and remarking how romantic that was. Ritsuka turned on his heel and dragged Soubi back out of the school.

"Ritsuka…?"

Ritsuka turned to look at him as they passed the gate. His eyes were blazing with a fiery passion.

Soubi launched himself on top of Ritsuka and they fell to the ground.

Soubi kissed him intensely. Ritsuka eyed Soubi's ears and the little butterfly earrings he'd worn since Ritsuka pierced his ears for him.

"I want to get my ears pierced, like you," he said. "The pain will be evidence of a bond between us, an everlasting scar."

Soubi laughed. Ritsuka was using the same words Soubi had used on him all those years ago to get Ritsuka to go through with it. "I'll ask Kio for another piercer, then."

With that, the men got up and walked back to their apartment, arm in arm, not caring who saw. They were in love, and they wanted to scream it to the heavens.


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: It was just so romantic and fluffy I had to keep going, right? So here you go, another chapter. Three in one day! It's a record. ^^;_

As they headed home, Soubi said something about stopping at a market. Apparently they were out of coffee and they needed to get something to make for dinner. Ritsuka nodded and said, under his breath, "Going shopping together. It's like we're married."

He thought Soubi didn't hear him clearly because he didn't say anything, but Soubi heard every word. He felt butterflies in the pit of his stomach and had to work hard to keep his face neutral.

The men entered a small, family owned market and perused the aisles arm in arm. Ritsuka didn't say anything, he just let himself be pulled around by Soubi. He wasn't having any luck finding something for dinner.

Soubi sighed. "How do you feel about pizza tonight, Ritsuka?"

"That's fine by me."

While Soubi was paying for their lone item, a can of coffee grounds, Ritsuka looked around the store. "Maybe I should get a job."

"What, do you want to work here?"

"Not particularly. But I don't want you to have to fully support me."

"My wages are good enough to support three Ritsukas," Soubi said with a laugh.

Ritsuka frowned. "Still… I'll need work experience at some point in my life anyway. Why not start building it up now?"

"You should concentrate on your schooling. You'll be starting college in less than a year, Ritsuka." He hesitated. "Have you given any thought to where you might like to go?"

"I think I'm going to apply to the university you teach at. It's close to home."

Soubi smiled. "That doesn't mean it's the right college for you. I'm not saying it isn't, but have you checked into the classes you'd have to take to be…" Soubi's voice trailed off. He didn't even know what Ritsuka was planning on doing with his life. "Ritsuka."

"Hmm?"

"What _are _you going to go to college for?"

Ritsuka looked thoughtful. "I'm not really sure. I don't really like mathematics, so probably not anything with a lot of that."

"But you've gotten the highest scores in your math classes for the last three years."

"That's why I don't really like it. It's not challenging for me." He thought about it some more. "I think I'd like to be a writer. Like novels and stuff like that." He looked at Soubi. "What do you think?"

"I think that would suit you perfectly, Ritsuka. But don't' worry about what I think. You should make that decision for yourself."

"But I want your input. I value your opinion above all others." Ritsuka was pulling out his house key. Soubi hadn't even realized that they had arrived home.

"Well, you certainly have the mind for writing. Very disciplined in your schooling."

Ritsuka pulled off his shoes and went to lay down on the couch.

"Writers don't really make money starting out," he said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about money, Ritsuka. Let me worry about that. Pursue your dream." Soubi walked over and sat at Ritsuka's feet.

Ritsuka eyed him. "What is your dream, Soubi?"

Soubi hesitated. "I hope for one of my works to be in a museum some day," he said, frowning, "but that's not really realistic. There are a lot of painters."

"There are a lot of writers, too," Ritsuka pointed out.

Soubi sighed, lifted Ritsuka's legs, and scooted himself under them, absently rubbing Ritsuka's calves. "My work has never stood out enough. Yours will, I can feel it in my heart."

Ritsuka sat up. "So we're just going to go on intuition?" Ritsuka was mentally kicking himself. What was he going on about? He thought he sounded like a woman, and it annoyed him.

"I'm sorry, Soubi. I just don't want us to have to worry about anything in the future."

Soubi blinked. This was the second remark that Ritsuka had made that day that made his stomach churn. But this time, he was being a lot more straightforward.

"The future?"

Ritsuka blushed and turned his head away. "Well, yeah, I mean… unless you don't want to be with me for a while."

Soubi's eyes widened. "I want to be with you forever, Ritsuka," he whispered.

An intense silence gripped the apartment. Ritsuka seemed frozen, but then he turned his head to look at Soubi, his eyes full of questions. "What do you mean by that?" he asked hesitantly.

Soubi looked down at his hands. The only ring he wore was there, on his pinky. It might fit Ritsuka reasonably well, and he thought it might be manly enough for Ritsuka to accept it. He slid it from his finger, hiding it in his palm. It would have to do for now until he found something more suitable. He stood up, looking down at Ritsuka. Soubi's face looked terrified. "I didn't really want to do this here. I was imagining somewhere far more… romantic… but since it's come up, I don't think I really have a choice."

Ritsuka studied him, and an image of him and Soubi standing at an altar swam before his eyes. He swooned as Soubi knelt down, on one knee, in front of Ritsuka, looking into his eyes.

"Soubi… are… are you…?"

Soubi took a steadying breath and took Ritsuka by the hand. Ritsuka felt something in his hand, something round and smooth.

"Ritsuka… marry me."

Soubi let the object drop into Ritsuka's hand and pulled his own away. Resting on Ritsuka's palm was Soubi's ring, the only one Ritsuka had ever seen him wear. His eyes swam with emotion and he flung his arms around Soubi's neck.

"Uh… is that a yes? I mean, if you don't want to answer right away, I understand. It's kind of unexpected for me too, so…" Soubi said anxiously.

Ritsuka pulled back enough to look him in the eyes, searching for any semblance of sarcasm or lies there. He could see none - just passion, love, devotion, need, and something that looked like desperation.

"Soubi. Shut up. Just shut up." he gasped as tears slid down his face.

Soubi's looked stricken. He stood up and turned around. He felt a hot tear sliding down his face. His fists clenched and his head hung down. "I'm sorry."

Ritsuka got up and put his arms around Soubi again. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't want to, I understand."

Ritsuka just smiled. "Are you an idiot, Soubi?" He kissed him. "Of course I want to marry you."

An immense grin came upon Soubi's face and he picked Ritsuka up by the hips and spun him around, kissing him all over his face. Ritsuka was bawling his eyes out, but Soubi knew these were tears of joy. "Ritsuka… you've made me the happiest man in the world."

Ritsuka's lips twitched at the edges. "That's my line."

"Oh, sorry."

Soubi took the ring from Ritsuka's palm and held it up. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind. Just consider it a placeholder until I get a decent one."

Ritsuka frowned. "But I like this one. "

Soubi blinked. "It's a piece of junk, Ritsuka. It's hardly better than one from a bubblegum machine."

"I don't care. I don't need anything expensive. It's yours, so it means a lot to me."

He took the ring from between Soubi's fingers and slid it onto the fourth finger of his left hand.

Soubi's eyes started leaking again. Ritsuka embraced him almost violently.

"Your finger will turn green."

Ritsuka laughed. The sound was magical to Soubi. "My whole body could turn green and I wouldn't care."

"Ah well, it'll be replaced with a wedding ring soon enough."

Ritsuka's nose wrinkled. "That's not very permanent."

"So what do you suggest?"

Ritsuka thought about it for a few moments. "You know what's really permanent?"

Soubi cast around in his mind for anything that Ritsuka might consider permanent ornamentation for a finger. He flashed onto a scene of a television show he was watching the previous week, and, as if his brain was equipped with a zoom function, the picture of a hand swam in front of his eyes, with an intricate design inked onto the fourth finger. "A tattoo?" Soubi said hesitantly. He thought it was a stretch.

Ritsuka's eyes went wide. "How did you know?" He poked Soubi repeatedly in the stomach playfully.

Soubi smiled and poked him back. "I know you better than anyone else, Ritsuka." He laughed. "You really want to get a tattoo?"

"It would last forever," Ritsuka said, his eyes shining.

"Ritsuka, I think I'm a bad influence on you. I'm letting you smoke, you want your ears pierced, and now you want a tattoo?" Soubi chuckled. "Your mother is going to kill me."

Ritsuka tackled Soubi and landed on the floor on top of him. "What my mother thinks doesn't matter. The only thing that matters to me is you."

Soubi tickled Ritsuka's sides, and his face filled with mirth. "Hey, I thought it was my job to be cheesy?"

Ritsuka snorted and he collapsed, giggling, on top of Soubi.

"Ritsuka, you're adorable."

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They laid there, tickling each other, elated, until they heard a knock on the door. They got up and moved as one to the door. Both of their hands reached for the knob and they giggled again. They felt like silly air-headed teenagers.

Kio was dumbfounded when he saw Ritsuka and Soubi pull open the door together, their fingers flying all over each other, tickling.

"Hi Sou-chan, Ric-chan. Did I come at a bad time?"

Ritsuka grinned at Kio, attempting to hold Soubi's hands off of him, but failing miserably. Kio's eyes found Ritsuka's left hand and Soubi's ring there. His eyes widened. They slid up to Ritsuka's head and saw no ears there.

"SOU-CHAN!"

Soubi tried to put on a straight face, but he simply looked dazed. "Yeah, Kio?"

"Did you…. DID YOU…. Did you give Ric-chan your ring?!" He didn't even want to get into the other thing that was out of place on Ritsuka.

Ritsuka wiggled his fingers in Kio's face. "Oh, you noticed? Yeah."

Soubi put on a face of mock seriousness, but couldn't hold it long because Ritsuka was tickling him again. "Kio, I asked Ritsuka to marry me just now."

Kio thought his eyes would pop out of his head. He stood there, stunned, not saying anything.

After a few moments of silence, Ritsuka said tentatively, "…Kio?"

Kio jumped at them and glomped them, and they all fell to the ground.

"OH MY GOD!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!"

Ritsuka and Soubi beamed at him. Ritsuka noticed a duffel bag in Kio's hand.

"Oh! Kio! Do you have a piercer laying around anywhere?"

Kio blinked. "Uh, yeah. You want to pierce Soubi's ears again?"

"Nope. I want Soubi to pierce _me_ this time."

Kio broke out into tears. "LITTLE RIC-CHAN IS ALL GROWN UP NOW!"

Ritsuka laughed and rubbed his head where his kitty ears used to be. "I guess I have." He looked at Soubi and flashed him a conspiratorial smile. It made Soubi melt. It was as if that little incident in the lunchroom at his school had completely cleared him of any embarrassment of his personal life.

All three men stood up and Kio dug into his bag, searching for something. "Well anyway, here's a piercer. It's clean and everything, so don't worry about getting AIDS."

"Thanks," Ritsuka beamed, and set the contraption down on the table. "So did you come here for something or were you just stopping in to see how we were?"

"I actually came to say goodbye."

Ritsuka and Soubi exchanged startled looks. "Goodbye?"

"What's going on, Kio?"

"I'm leaving Japan. I'm moving to America. With my new boyfriend."

Ritsuka beamed. "Well, we'll miss you Kio. Make sure to write."

Soubi chimed in, "And we'll make sure we have our wedding on a day that you can come back."

Kio burst into tears again and pulled the other two into half-nelsons. "I'm going to miss you guys!"

They patted his head. "We'll miss you too, Kio. But aren't you happy about being with your new boyfriend?"

Kio looked embarrassed. "Of course I am. If you're ever in America, look us up, ok?" He looked at his watch. "I have to go now, to catch my plane," he said with a grin. He squeezed them again, pulled away, and bent to pick up his duffel, which had fallen to the floor. He turned around to leave, but on the doorstep, he turned and addressed Soubi. "I didn't think you had it in you, man."

He left it at that and closed the door behind him, leaving Soubi and Ritsuka in the apartment alone, sad because of Kio's departure but excited about what the future would bring them.


	12. Chapter 12

_AN: Don't worry, this isn't the end for Kio. He'll be back. I'm not quite done using his powers of terrible timing. Mwahahahaha. :B_

_Also, I'm terribly sorry it took so long to get this up. I was in a place with no wifi ( :[[[[ ) most of yesterday and today, so I couldn't upload it as soon as I finished it. Please forgive me. ^^;;;;  
_

The next few days felt like a dream to Ritsuka. He could remember bits and pieces of what happened on each of the days, like Yuiko's flabbergasted expression when Ritsuka told her about what Soubi had asked him, and their shopping trip to the mall, buying fake ears and almost falling over repeatedly due to giggling fits. Ritsuka was on cloud nine. He was the happiest he could remember being in his whole life. Soubi and Ritsuka were still acting like air-heads most of the time, and their suddenly bubbly personalities affected everyone they came in contact with, either making the person mildly embarrassed or causing him or her to become a bubbly air-head too.

By Sunday afternoon, Ritsuka thought his face had stuck into a manic smile. He couldn't frown anymore, even if he thought of his brother.

After about a week, the boys calmed down enough to return to a semi-normal routine; wake up, drink coffee, watch the news, go to school or work, come home, cuddle or play a game, eat dinner, occasionally fuck, and go to bed.

Ritsuka hadn't worked up the courage to have Soubi pierce his ears yet. The piercer was just sitting on the kitchen table. Whenever Ritsuka saw it, he thought of Kio and wondered how he was surviving in America.

One cold, snowy Saturday night about a month and a half after Soubi had proposed, Ritsuka thought he couldn't put it off anymore.

The pair spent most of the day in the park, building snowmen, having snowball fights, and wrestling in snow banks. They came home, chilled to the bone and exhausted. Soubi set about the kitchen to make some hot cocoa for them and Ritsuka pulled on flannel pajamas and wrapped himself in about fifty blankets on the couch. His eyes wandered to the painting that Soubi had just gotten around to finishing. It was hanging adjacent to where all of the photos of them together were, above their bed. Ritsuka saw some irony in its placement and giggled. He reached for the remote and clicked on the television, absently surfing through the channels.

Soubi came over to the couch with two steaming mugs and placed them carefully on the coffee table. Ritsuka scooted over and Soubi joined him under the blankets, his fingers playing at the back of Ritsuka's singular set of ears. Soubi could hardly remember what Ritsuka looked like with kitty ears anymore, except for when he looked at pictures. It didn't much matter to him, though, because, if anything, the new, earless Ritsuka was even more adorable in his eyes. He had more of a sexy and mature air about him, and Soubi found that uber-kawaii.

Ritsuka took a sip from the cup and savored the rich, chocolaty flavor. He tasted something else in there, too, something much more flammable.

"Soubi, did you put anything weird in this?" he asked.

"Not weird. Just a little cinnamon liqueur." Soubi's lip curled. "It'll warm you up faster."

Ritsuka sighed. "What am I going to do with you, giving hard liquor to minors?" He shook his head in mock disappointment, then leaned over and kissed Soubi. "So… do you want to pierce me tonight?"

"You wanna do it tonight? I thought you'd be too tired."

Ritsuka looked confused, but then it slowly dawned on him that Soubi wasn't talking about anything remotely close to his ears. The real ones, anyway. Ritsuka flushed. "I _am_ too tired for _that_… but that's not what I was talking about," he said, disgruntled.

Soubi tickled his sides, causing Ritsuka to squirm and giggle. "I know. I just like to mess with you sometimes. Sure, I'll pierce you tonight, but only if you want me to."

"I do. I've been putting it off long enough, don't you think?" Ritsuka's face looked determined.

Soubi put his arm around Ritsuka and sipped his cocoa. "I'll wait as long as you need, Ritsuka."

"Okay then." Ritsuka ducked under Soubi's arm, got off the couch, and went to get the piercer from the table. He went back to the couch and sat on Soubi's lap. "I don't need any more time. Just do it."

Soubi caressed Ritsuka's left ear, his fingers lingering on his earlobe. "It'll twinge a bit."

"That's ok. Do it."

Soubi brought the piercer to Ritsuka's ear, positioned it, and hesitated. He looked right into Ritsuka's eyes as he squeezed the mechanism, boring a hole into Ritsuka's tender flesh.

Ritsuka winced, but he didn't say anything. Soubi transferred the piercer to his other hand and performed the same work on Ritsuka's right ear. He tossed the piercer onto the coffee table and reached for his own ears. From them, he took the little butterfly earrings that he always wore and put them in Ritsuka's new holes.

Ritsuka's eyes were watering, but he didn't betray any other sign of pain. Instead, he just kissed Soubi softly and whispered, "Thank you." He flung his arms around Soubi and held onto him tightly.

Soubi wrapped his arms around Ritsuka's hips, his hands snaking easily into the back pockets of Ritsuka's pants.

"Anything for Ritsuka."

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Ritsuka's birthday rapidly approached. It was a milestone - he would finally be eighteen. In the days leading up to December 21st, Soubi became more and more secretive. Ritsuka wasn't really expecting anything extravagant. He would have been happy to have a quiet party with Soubi and his two best school friends, Yuiko and Yayoi.

Ritsuka woke up to his alarm clock on the 21st and was startled to see that Soubi wasn't there with him. There was a tray laying on the bed next to him that had a small breakfast on it, along with a handwritten note from Soubi.

_Ritsuka,_

_Happy Birthday! I've got some things to take care of, so I can't take you to school today. I hope you'll forgive me. I'll see you when you're done with school today._

_I love you._

_Soubi  
_

Ritsuka frowned slightly, but knew that whatever Soubi was doing was for him. He felt slightly more cheerful as he drank the coffee on the tray and pulled on some heavy clothes. He imagined all kinds of different scenarios to explain what Soubi was planning, but each seemed more far-fetched than the last. He sighed and left home a little early with the intention of smoking a cigarette on the way. He lit a cigarette and realized that it was actually legal for him to do so now. He laughed and looked down at the little stick. He still didn't really understand why such a little thing was illegal for people under eighteen. He knew of the health risks, of course, but a person should be able to decide what they want to do to their own bodies.

Ritsuka meandered down the sidewalk. He wasn't used to not having Soubi there with him, and he felt a little lonely.

When he arrived at the school gate, he saw Yuiko standing there with Yayoi, waiting for him to show up. He smiled as he approached, and they launched at him. He was the youngest in their little group, and now he was a legal adult with them, too. He hugged them tightly as they chattered away, saying such things as "You're finally eighteen!" and "Congratulations!" and, of course, "Happy birthday!" They said that. Over. And over. And over. Ritsuka was surprised that he wasn't more annoyed at this. He appreciated his friends, though, and knew that they were truly happy for him.

Most of the school day was just like any other. During lunch, Yuiko produced a small cake and the trio shared it, but other than that, nothing was different.

It was after school when things started becoming extraordinary.

Soubi was there, as he had promised in his note that morning, smoking a cigarette against the gate, just like usual. But as Ritsuka approached, he saw something next to Soubi on the ground, wrapped in bright paper. When Ritsuka reached Soubi, he flung his arms around him and kissed him.

"Happy birthday, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka beamed at Soubi. "Thank you. I missed you."

"I missed you too," Soubi said, "but I had to be somewhere early this morning. For your present. I didn't think it would come in on time."

Ritsuka racked his brain, trying to figure out what Soubi meant by this. He looked at Soubi inquiringly, but Soubi didn't say anything. He just bent down and picked up the package.

"Can I open it here?"

"You might not want to. It's a little personal." Soubi's lip curled.

Ritsuka looked confused. "Okay… I'll wait until we get home. We are going home, right?"

"Yes."

Soubi put his arm around Ritsuka's shoulders and walked him home. For some reason, Ritsuka got the feeling that Soubi still had something up his sleeve.

Soubi let them into the flat and closed and locked the door behind them. Ritsuka took off his shoes and coat and went to sit on the couch. He pondered the package in his hands."It's not going to open if you just stare at it, you know." Soubi was behind him, whispering in his ear.

Ritsuka jumped and looked around at Soubi. "I know. I'm just trying to guess what it is."

"If you open it, you don't have to guess," Soubi said, smiling, as he walked around the couch and sat down next to Ritsuka.

"It's too pretty. I don't want to rip the paper."

Soubi laughed. "You're stalling."

"I'm not," Ritsuka said indignantly. He was like this every year. He always wanted to be able to guess what his present was before he opened it. It gave him some sense of self-satisfaction when he was right about it.

Ritsuka frowned and slid his thumb under the seam of the paper. The tape detached easily from the paper and soon, just a cardboard box was laying on his lap. He opened that too, extremely slowly, and dug into the packing peanuts. He withdrew a smaller box, also wrapped, and looked indignantly at Soubi. Soubi just laughed.

Ritsuka opened the smaller package too, revealing a jewel box. "Soubi…" He looked at his fiance.

"Go on, open it."

Ritsuka took a deep breath and flipped the lid of the small, velveteen box open, revealing a pair of white gold and amethyst earrings, shaped like butterflies. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him as he detached one from the box and held it up to look at it more closely.

"Soubi…" His eyes welled with emotions. "They're…"

"Do you like them?"

"They're magnificent."

Soubi grinned. "I'm glad. I had to get them made special. Apparently, amethyst don't usually have that exact purple. And since you said you didn't want me to replace that ring I gave you, I figured…" his voice trailed off, because Ritsuka flung himself into his arms and kissed him passionately.

"This must have cost you a small fortune."

"Don't worry about that, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka pulled one of Soubi's butterfly earrings that he had been wearing out of his ear and put it in Soubi's. He put one of his new earrings in, then hesitated… "…Soubi…"

"Yes, Ritsuka?"

"Will you wear one of them? Please?"

Soubi was taken aback. "I got them for you, Ritsuka."

"I want you to wear one of them. And I'll wear one of yours."

Soubi smiled. Ritsuka was such a romantic sometimes. "If that's what you want, Ritsuka."

Without saying anything, Ritsuka took the other earring out of the box and put it in Soubi's ear.

"I don't know why… but it just makes me feel like… I don't know… it feels like it's _supposed_ to be like this, you know?" Ritsuka said.

Soubi embraced him. "I know exactly what you mean." His fingers touched Ritsuka's ear and the new stone that glittered there. Ritsuka nuzzled into Soubi's chest.

"Thank you, Soubi."

Soubi pecked him on the lips and said, "Let's go to dinner tonight."

"Ok. Where are we going?"

Soubi smiled. "It's a surprise. And this time, you're wearing a blindfold."

_PS: I'm not really feeling this title anymore. I'm banging around ideas in my head for a new one. I'll let you know in advance if I'm going to change it._


	13. Chapter 13

_AN: For some reason, I feel like this chapter kind of rambles, even though it's shorter than most of the other ones. I'm sorry if you think so, too. :(_

When Soubi removed Ritsuka's blindfold, he was standing on a dock, looking at a small yacht. There was a banner across the hull that said, "Happy 18th Birthday, Ritsuka!" Ritsuka saw about twenty people standing on the deck, and the second he opened his eyes, they all screamed, "SURPRISE!"

Ritsuka's face broke into an immense grin and he tackled Soubi. He hadn't expected anything so grand, and he felt a rush of emotion for all of the people he saw there -- classmates, old favorite teachers, the counselor he still saw once a month, and, above all, his mother. He couldn't believe that she actually came to celebrate.

"Soubi… you didn't have to go to this much trouble. It's just a birthday."

"I wanted to. It's not just any birthday. Eighteen is a milestone."

"Yeah, but… " Ritsuka started, but Soubi hushed him with a kiss. His friends wolf whistled and giggled.

Soubi took Ritsuka by the hand and dragged him up the gangplank to the deck. As soon as they boarded, the ship's anchor was pulled from the depths and they set out into the middle of the river.

Ritsuka could only now really see the deck of the ship. There were five round tables strategically positioned all around with pure white table linens and fine china. Each had a single purple (probably dyed) carnation in a vase in the middle, and the tables glowed with votives. Heat was blasting from gigantic fans in the wall of the cabin, so the whole deck was as warm as inside.

"Soubi…" Ritsuka said again, "This is…."

"Do you like it?" Soubi asked.

"It's unbelievable. Am I dreaming right now?"

Soubi pinched his arm lightly. "Did you feel that?"

"Yes…."

"Well, that means you're not dreaming." Soubi grinned.

"Weirdo."

Soubi grabbed his hand and pulled him over to a table. Yuiko and Yayoi were there, sitting next to each other. As soon as they sat down, waiters in tuxedos zoomed out from below deck and went to each of the tables, bearing menus.

"…Wow…" Ritsuka muttered, awed. "This must have cost you a fortune, Soubi."

"Not really. I know a guy…" Soubi said, "But anyway, don't worry about money, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka looked pained. "I'm sorry. I'm not being very fun right now, am I?"

Soubi smiled at him warmly. "Don't be sorry, Ritsuka. You're adorable when you worry."

Ritsuka scooted his chair closer to Soubi and laid his head on his shoulder after kissing him on the cheek. "You're amazing Soubi. I'm just not used to people paying so much attention to me. It's strange."

Soubi wrapped his arm around Ritsuka's shoulders and kissed his forehead. "Everyone deserves to be the center of attention every once in a while."

"I guess. You just wait until _your _birthday." Ritsuka flashed him a devious smile.

Soubi laughed and squeezed him.

Ritsuka hesitated. "So… what do you want to talk about?" He looked at Yayoi and Yuiko. They were talking amongst themselves and it looked like they were holding hands under the table.

"They're cute," Soubi said when he noticed what Ritsuka was looking at. He bit his lip. "I don't know. What do you want to talk about?"

"… Let's talk about our wedding."

Soubi's free hand found Ritsuka's and grasped it. "Ok. What about it?"

"Well…" Ritsuka said slowly, "we haven't really planned anything yet…."

Soubi looked into Ritsuka's eyes. "Are you anxious to get married?"

He kissed him, blushed, and averted his eyes. "I'm excited about it."

"Well, now that you're an adult, we can start planning it. "

Ritsuka smiled over at Soubi and licked his face. Soubi wrinkled his nose and tickled Ritsuka's sides. He squirmed in his seat and stifled his giggles, but apparently not enough. Everyone looked over at the pair. "Soubi… most of these people don't know that we're engaged now."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Ritsuka breathed. He suddenly stood up and pulled Soubi up with him.

Ritsuka cleared his throat and said, barely concealing the excitement in his voice, "We have something to announce. Most of you guys don't know yet."

Eighteen pairs of eyes looked at him inquisitively, but Yuiko and Yayoi just smiled knowingly.

Ritsuka sought out his mother and found her sitting at a table with his sixth grade teacher and the counselor. He looked right at her as he said, "We… Soubi and I, that is… we're getting married."

There was a split second of absolute silence. Then, an enormous cheer erupted from the other tables, and girls argued with their boyfriends about why _they_ weren't getting married. Most of the boyfriends in the crowd glared at Ritsuka, and he mouthed _sorry, _while looking thoroughly amused_. _His mother's face was blank, then her eyes locked onto Ritsuka's; she smiled warmly and she whispered, "congratulations." Ritsuka grinned and nodded his head in reverence at her. Then he looked over at Soubi and his face fell. A lone tear was sliding down Soubi's face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm surprised, Ritsuka. I didn't think you'd tell your mother so soon. I can't even express how happy I am that you have. I love you." Soubi pulled him into an embrace and kissed him deeply, to a fresh wave of wolf-whistles and girlfriendish, jealous muttering.

The men sat down again, but kept kissing. They couldn't keep their hands off of each other. Yuiko and Yayoi looked slightly embarrassed when the waiter came up and asked them what they wanted. Ritsuka waved his hand in the general direction of Yuiko, then pointed at himself and Soubi, indicating that she should order for them. She smiled and sighed, exasperated. The boys kept going at it the whole time the waiter was there, and Yuiko was turning steadily redder. She mumbled, "Yeah, sorry about that…" to the waiter, but he just smiled and said it didn't bother him.

"They're in love. It's precious," he said with a smile, then turned away and went below deck to put in the orders.

Soubi and Ritsuka only separated themselves from each other when the food came, but they still sat holding hands under the table. Through the meal, they kept glancing to the side at each other, acting coy. When their plates were cleared, they promptly resumed the make-out session. Ritsuka got out of his chair and sat sideways on Soubi's lap.

"Ok, you guys, get a room," Yuiko said with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

Ritsuka unstuck his face from Soubi's and looked around at her. His face flushed and he said, "Sorry, Yuiko. I forgot where I was for a while there." He slid off of Soubi and took back his own seat, then laid his head on Soubi's shoulder. "I'm sorry if we embarrassed you."

Yuiko frowned and looked over at Yayoi. He was just about as red as Ritsuka was. "You made Yayoi embarrassed, that's for sure." She giggled and kissed Yayoi on the cheek. "But you guys are so adorable. I wish I was that comfortable doing… that… in public."

"Well, its not really public, is it? We all know each other here."

"Yeah, but still… I don't think I'd have the courage."

Ritsuka smiled knowingly and looked up at Soubi. He was smiling serenely. "You take this one."

Soubi looked at Ritsuka, but he addressed Yuiko and Yayoi. "Ritsuka used to be really uncomfortable showing any kind of affection around other people. Do you remember that?"

Yuiko nodded, then realized that he wasn't looking at her, so he didn't see. She spoke up, "Yes, I remember that. How did he get through it?"

"Well, I think it started when he first told me he loved me." Ritsuka nodded his agreement. "Then everything just snowballed."

Yuiko looked down and didn't say anything.

Ritsuka looked at Yuiko and Yayoi. They were staring at each other sideways. "It was really hard for me to say it at first. But then, I realized that I wanted to be with Soubi for the rest of my life. I care for him and I adore him. I love him with all of my heart. When I finally figured that out, it was a lot easier to say."

Soubi's face flushed as Ritsuka was speaking and he kissed Ritsuka again. He couldn't help it. Hearing Ritsuka say those things touched his heart and his soul.

"Was that really what happened?" he asked, his eyes teary.

Ritsuka wiped away the tears that were welling at the sides of Soubi's eyes and said, "Yes. Every word is true."

It was no use anymore. Soubi couldn't keep his eyes or his hands off of Ritsuka for the rest of the night. Or his lips, for that matter. Even when they sang happy birthday to Ritsuka and he blew out his candles, Soubi was standing behind him with his arms wrapped around his waist, kissing his neck.

By the time they got back into port, it was dark outside. Ritsuka and Soubi raced through the streets, desperate to get out of the cold and to get their hands on each other again. In the privacy of their own home, they didn't have to control themselves. They could do anything they wanted.

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An hour and a half later, both men laid side by side on the bed, naked and sticky with perspiration and other bodily fluids, their chests heaving.

Ritsuka turned his head on the pillow to look at Soubi. "_That_… that was…." He couldn't even think of a word to describe the pure amazement he felt.

Soubi rolled over and pulled Ritsuka close to him. His knuckles skimmed over Ritsuka's soft skin.

"Thank you, Soubi. This was the best birthday I've ever had." He hesitated and kissed Soubi's neck. "I can't believe you went to all this trouble just for me."

"Believe it Ritsuka," Soubi whispered in his ear. "I love you. I would do anything for you."

Ritsuka smiled and slid his fingers down through the congealing liquids splattered against Soubi's abs. "I'm sorry I exploded all over you."

Soubi looked down as if he hadn't noticed. "That's ok. It's supposed to be good for your skin, anyway."

Ritsuka laughed and his fingers paused at Soubi's pelvis. He looked into Soubi's eyes. He looked exhausted.

"Soubi…"

"Yes, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka slid his index finger down Soubi's semi-hard manhood and Soubi shuddered. "Are you too tired to go again?" He winked.

Soubi smiled deviously. "I'm never too tired for that. But if we go again right now, you'll probably die of dehydration. You lost a lot of fluid here." He indicated to his own stomach.

Ritsuka just laughed. "Who said _I _was going to lose any more fluid? I just want yours. Consider it another birthday present for me."

He left it at that and scooted down in the bed. Soubi was in heaven. He could have never imagined, five and a half years ago, that their relationship would become this. He laid back in bed, watching Ritsuka's head bob up and down, his face obscured by his hair. They had been Servant and Master. They had been Fighter and Sacrifice. Now, they were just Soubi and Ritsuka. They were in love and they were lovers. Nothing else in the whole world mattered.


	14. Chapter 14

_AN: Sorry, this chapter is a lot of rambling. And I needed a little comic relief from all of the sexiness in previous chapters. Also, I'm going to change the name of this to "Stand By Me" after I post this chapter. I'll keep "Just Say It" in the description, in case you're looking for it, for a while._

For the next couple of months, Ritsuka and Soubi consumed themselves in the planning of their wedding. They decided that a summer wedding would be the best, because Ritsuka would be out of school by then and Soubi wouldn't have any classes to teach. They exchanged e-mails with Kio to find out when he would be able to come back into town, and after a lot of pruning, they narrowed it down to June 20th, which would fall on a Saturday that year. It also just happened to be the first day of summer, even though it always felt like summer started way before then. Ritsuka found something strangely romantic about the day.

They decided to have the wedding in the park where they first met, and have the reception on the roof of their apartment building. Soubi had taken Ritsuka up there a couple of times, and it had an amazing view of the twinkling Tokyo lights at night. Ritsuka couldn't think of anything he enjoyed more than just sitting up there with his legs dangling over the edge of the building with Soubi, watching the sun set behind the cityscape.

Ritsuka decided that he was going to wear white. The idea of being treated like a bride turned him on for some unfathomable reason.

After a while, he was reminded that he needed to find a best man. Or, rather, a 'groomsmaid of honor.' Ritsuka giggled whenever the term crossed his mind. He didn't really know why it was a big deal, but he figured he had the perfect person in mind.

So one day around the middle of March, he was walking home with Soubi. Yuiko had decided to walk with them, because Yayoi was out sick that day and she didn't like going home alone. She had been chatting idly with them about her day and the problems she was having in math when Ritsuka interrupted her mid-sentence.

"…don't really understand the formula for finding the derivative of a natural logarithm, and-" (That's right; Yuiko was in calculus, mostly because of Ritsuka's gracious tutoring over the years.)

"Yuiko, I have something to ask you."

He looked across Soubi's body at her and she looked back, confused and a little disgruntled that he interrupted her.

They stopped walking and Soubi walked a few paces ahead, lighting a cigarette as he went, to give them a little privacy.

"I was wondering if… I mean, if you don't want to, you don't have to, but… I thought you might like to…" Ritsuka started. He felt awkward asking Yuiko something like this.

Yuiko raised an eyebrow and looked at him inquisitively. All of the irritation she had previously felt had left her face.

"Would you like to be my… er… maid of honor?"

Yuiko's face split into a wide, toothy grin. She glomped Ritsuka and he staggered back, thrown off balance.

"I would love to, Ritsuka-kun!!"

Ritsuka looked relieved. "Um… well… ok then. Thanks."

Yuiko and Ritsuka caught up to Soubi and she chattered nonstop about all of the things she'd be able to help with. Ritsuka looked at Soubi and rolled his eyes, but smiled. Soubi just smirked back at him, with an expression that pretty much screamed, 'you asked for it.' Ritsuka snorted and half-listened to Yuiko, saying, "yep" or "mhmm" at each of the pauses. When it came time for them to part and go separate ways, Yuiko rushed him again and they actually fell over. Ritsuka clawed at Soubi's arm, trying to free himself from Yuiko's bone crushing hug. Soubi laughed. He couldn't help it. He grasped Ritsuka by the hand and pulled him up, causing Yuiko to roll off him. Ritsuka lifted Soubi's arms and put them around himself, protecting himself from being attacked again. Yuiko stood up and apologized, then ran off excitedly towards her house, yelling back that she'd text him later.

Ritsuka sighed and looked up at Soubi. "So who is going to have to deal with her as your best man?"

Soubi smirked. "Kio."

Ritsuka snorted. He felt kind of bad for Kio, but he could just see Yuiko dancing with Kio during the requisite 'couple's first dance.' The image caused him to laugh so hard he thought his lungs might explode.

Then Ritsuka thought of something, and his face fell immediately. He had completely forgotten about Yayoi. He felt kind of guilty for not asking him to play a role in their wedding, too.

"What's wrong, Ritsuka?" asked Soubi, noticing the sudden change in Ritsuka's mood.

"I forgot about Yayoi. He's going to be angry." Ritsuka looked devastated.

Soubi looked over at Ritsuka thoughtfully. "Well… it would probably be easiest for me to find someone to be my… what was it you've been calling it?… groomsmaid. Then you could ask Yayoi to be your best man."

Ritsuka studied him. "Yeah, that could work. But who?"Soubi smiled sweetly and gazed off into space. "I think I know the perfect person."

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Soubi and Ritsuka stood outside of the middle school and memories came flooding back. For Soubi, they were mainly memories of feeling like a pedophile. For Ritsuka, they were memories of all of the times that Soubi had waited for him there, all of the times he'd kissed him there, and all of the times he'd actually consented to it. They were waiting patiently for the bell to ring so they could go inside and not feel like creepos. They had come to see Ritsuka's sixth grade teacher, Shinonome Hitomi. Ritsuka found it unbelievably hilarious that she still hadn't lost her ears. He didn't ever dare to bring it up though, because she would just storm away in a huff, muttering lividly about how she was going at her own pace and that no one should tell her what to do. Ritsuka also found it a little funny that Shinonome-sensei still acted flustered around Soubi. _This is going to be interesting_, Ritsuka thought as he heard the bell ring and the rumbling chaos of hundreds of feet. He looked over at Soubi. He was wearing a smirk on his face and looked highly amused with the situation he'd put himself in. "She might just run away as soon as she sees me coming," he said earnestly.

Ritsuka giggled. "Please try to be nice to her. She's our only chance."

Soubi nodded, and once the crowd lessened, grasped Ritsuka by the hand and pulled him towards the front door of the school. Ritsuka had called Hitomi during her lunch hour and asked if he could see her in his old classroom after school. She agreed, tripping over her words, thrilled that one of her favorite students was coming back to visit her. Ritsuka had failed to mention, however, that Soubi would be accompanying him, and when he pulled open the door to the classroom and Hitomi saw Soubi stride in with Ritsuka, her ears drooped slightly and a reddish tinge came to her cheeks.

"Oh. Agatsuma-san. I didn't know you were coming, too."

Ritsuka walked up to her and hugged her briefly, feeling a little awkward about it. But it made her smile, so he figured he could deal with it. "Soubi has something to ask of you," Ritsuka said, pulling away from her and going back to Soubi. He looked over at him and Soubi nodded.

"Shinonome-sensei-"

She cut him off and said, "Please call me Hitomi-san. You too, Ritsuka-kun. I'm not your teacher anymore. We're just friends now."

Ritsuka looked pleased and Soubi nodded, continuing, "Very well, Hitomi-san. I came to ask you if you'd play a part in our wedding."

"What do you mean?" She looked confused.

Ritsuka spoke up. "Well, it's a little weird, but we'd like you to be one of Soubi's… er… groomsmaids."

Her face went blank, then she laughed at the term. "Groomsmaids? I've never been one of those before. But of course, I'd love to."

Ritsuka grinned at her. "You'll be paired with Yayoi."

She flushed. "Yayoi-kun?"

"Yes."

"Oh well, it's not like we haven't been stuck together before."

Ritsuka laughed. He knew she was recalling the time they all went to the amusement park together, and Yuiko dragged Ritsuka onto the Ferris wheel with her, leaving Yayoi and her to go together. He bowed slightly and said, "Thank you, Hitomi-san. This makes things a lot easier."

"Please, it's an honor," she said, averting her eyes, "especially since I'm so annoying to Soubi-san."

Soubi smiled at her sweetly. "You're not nearly as annoying as you used to be. You're still a childish woman, though."

Ritsuka slapped him on the arm. "I said to be nice, Soubi!" Hitomi looked devastated and tears welled up at the sides of her eyes. Ritsuka went over to her and looked indignantly at Soubi. "Apologize."

"I'm sorry, Hitomi-san. It slipped out," Soubi said, thoroughly amused.

With that, Hitomi excused herself from the room and ran off towards the staff room.

Ritsuka sighed and took Soubi's hand. "What am I going to do with you?" The corners of his mouth twitched. "It was kind of funny, though."

Soubi kissed him. "I'll try not to offend her anymore. Within reason. I _am _human, after all."

Then the couple walked out of the school into a bright, sunny day.

"So, what do you want to do today?"

"Whatever Ritsuka wants."

"Let's go surf the internet. We need to find someone to perform our ceremony. It's not like we can get a pastor or something."

Soubi grinned. "No, I don't think the church would like us very much."

They walked home, stopping by the Seven Eleven to buy more cigarettes. Ritsuka bought them, and was way too excited about it. He'd recently gotten a job as a stock boy at a local market. His wages weren't good, but having even a little money made him feel less dependent on Soubi for everything. Soubi was occasionally anxious about the situation, because Ritsuka worked really late sometimes, but for the most part, he was happy because Ritsuka was happy. That's all he needed to survive, he often thought. _As long as Ritsuka is happy, I don't need anything else._

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Ritsuka was becoming exponentially more anxious and excited as the end of school approached. Only eight days after his high school career came to a halt, he would be a married man. He'd been having trouble concentrating almost all year due to senioritis, but for the last month or so, he found it futile to even try. He usually just stared towards the front of the classroom, his head resting on his hand, daydreaming. He didn't really have to try anymore -- he'd already gotten accepted into the liberal arts program at the university. All he had to do was coast and not fail. He did just enough of his homework to pass with a decent grade. His test scores were always excellent, even without studying, so he didn't really have to try hard to pull an A.

Ritsuka's afternoons were filled with planning. One day at the end of May, he, Yuiko, and Yayoi went to a tux shop to get fitted. He had forbidden Soubi to go with him, mandating that he see him for the first time on their wedding day. Soubi had said, "Ritsuka, you're such a girl sometimes," and tickled his sides. But he respected his wishes and was nowhere in sight as he tried on a pure white tuxedo with a purple silk tie and cummerbund.

Yuiko's eyes started leaking when he walked out of the changing room. "Ritsuka-kun! It's perfect!"

Ritsuka smiled at her and turned around to look at himself in the three-way mirror. He usually didn't really like how he looked, but he stared at his reflection, stunned."I'm… I'm _hot_," he mumbled with disbelief.

He turned around and looked at his backside, giggling at the tails of the tuxedo coat. He glanced up at Yayoi. His face was red.

"What do you think, Yayoi?" he asked with a smirk.

"… It looks good on you…"

Yuiko turned to look at him, indignant. "He's sexy, isn't he Yayoi?! Even _you_ have to think so!"

Yayoi mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"I said, 'If I were gay, I'd definitely hit that.''

They all broke out into a raucous laughing fit, and Ritsuka went back into the changing room to take off the suit. He brought it out and told the shop keeper that it was the one.

"Can you keep it here for me until the day of the wedding? I don't want my fiance seeing it."

"Of course. We'll keep it in the back for you. And you get a discount, because it's for a wedding. Instead of $500 to rent it for a day, we'll give it to you for $250."

"Okay. Can I pay for that now?"

"Yes, of course."

He withdrew his wallet from his jeans pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. Yuiko and Yayoi's eyes widened as he counted out the said amount and replaced the rest in his wallet.

"Where did you get all of that, Ritsuka-kun?!"

"I've been saving most of each of my paychecks," he said simply. "I didn't want Soubi to have to pay for this."

"You're such a romantic, Ritsuka-kun!" Yuiko wailed. She turned on Yayoi. "Why don't you do things like that?!"

Yayoi glared at Ritsuka. He smiled, embarrassed, and mouthed, _sorry_. _They're so cute_, he thought.

The trio left the shop and Yuiko asked, "Ritsuka-kun, what are Yayoi and I supposed to wear?"

Ritsuka hadn't really thought about it much. "Uh… I don't know. What do bridesmaids and best men usually wear?"

"Well, they usually wear one of the colors of the wedding. What are yours?"

"Purple and silver."

"Ooh! I have a pretty silver dress. I could wear that, if that's ok, Ritsuka. And Yayoi can rent a suit with a silver tie and vest."

Ritsuka nodded. He would be completely lost without Yuiko. "Thank you for all of your help, Yuiko. I wouldn't know what I was doing if it weren't for you."

Yuiko beamed. "It's just my job."

With that, the three friends parted ways, and Ritsuka walked home quickly, eager to see Soubi, his life, his love, his passion. _Only twenty three more days_, he thought, _and I'll be his for all of eternity_.


	15. Chapter 15

_AN: Sorry this took so long to get up. I had a serious case of writers block today, but I suffered through it, for you. :D Also, I'd really like to thank you for reading this, and you get special thanks if you've stuck by Ritsuka and Soubi for all of this time. A special shout-out to __**kawaii hime-sama, **__for your wonderfully frequent reviews. 3_

The end of their high school careers was upon Ritsuka, Yuiko, and Yayoi before they knew it. Ritsuka was mildly amused to find out that he'd been chosen as valedictorian. He wasn't too excited about the prospect of having to make a speech at graduation, but he figured if he didn't do it, the class would be treated to a twenty minute ramble about sports teams and dumb inside jokes.

The class was fitted for caps and gowns early in the year, and they arrived two days before graduation night, which was the day after school ended. There was a flurry of activity in the gymnasium; chairs appeared out of nowhere, a raised platform sprouted from the floor, and banners oozed from out of the walls, proclaiming the sponsors of the event and the class motto.

Ritsuka blinked and he was standing on the platform behind a podium, a microphone inches from his face. He cleared his throat and dove straight in.

"The aim of valedictory speeches is to motivate and inspire, but today, you're not going to hear any of that from me. It would be pointless to try. You've gotten here because you've worked your tails off to get here. Anyone who can do that already is motivated or inspired. Instead, I'll tell you a little story." Ritsuka paused and took a deep breath, scanning the crowd for Soubi. He found him and their eyes locked. Soubi smiled and nodded, prodding him along.

"There once was a young boy, age twelve, who transferred schools. He felt like he didn't have any reason to live. Then, a kind hand was extended to him from an inquisitive and slightly annoying girl. The boy couldn't understand why she wanted to be his friend. He couldn't fathom that anyone would ever want to be close to him, because he felt that everyone he had grown close to had left him. But this girl persisted, and after a while, the boy grew to love her and all of the people she introduced him to. He was reminded how wonderful life could be when he had friends.

"Six long years later, the boy stood up at his graduation and delivered a speech, as valedictorian. He knew that he wouldn't have gotten there if it weren't for the friends he'd developed, the bonds he grew to cherish. He was eternally grateful for the lessons they taught him, and for the pure kindliness that they'd shown him, but he couldn't find words that would fully articulate what they meant to him. He hoped they would understand." Ritsuka paused and found Yuiko, sitting in the front row, beaming, her eyes leaking. He smiled and nodded in reverence to her.

"So, anyway, I congratulate you, class of 2009, for making it this far. Your future achievements will soon cause this one to pale in comparison, so enjoy it while you can. Thank you all."

With that, Ritsuka stepped off of the platform and took his seat to a wave of applause.

The principal took the podium and said into the microphone, "Class of 2009, congratulations. You are now officially graduates of high school."

A roar went up from the seats and they all tossed their caps in the air jubilantly. Ritsuka stood up and sprinted over to Soubi once he'd caught his own and flung himself into Soubi's arms. "How'd I do?"

Soubi kissed him on the cheek. "You spoke wonderfully, Ritsuka. Maybe you should be a motivational speaker instead of a writer."

Ritsuka laughed. "The point was to_ not_ be motivational."

"Well, if that's what you were trying for, you failed miserably," someone said.

Ritsuka turned around and saw Yuiko and Yayoi standing there. They ran at him and glomped him, and they all fell to the floor, laughing.

_I'm graduated, _Ritsuka said in his head. _One ceremony down, one to go._

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For the next few days, Ritsuka was busier than he had ever been. He was also more excited than he'd ever been. Soubi still had a few classes to teach until Thursday, so Ritsuka went around town, finalizing all of the preparations. He went to city hall to get their marriage license, made sure that the park was reserved, checked in with the caterer, photographer, DJ, tux shop, and Justice of the Peace, scheduled appointments for him and Soubi to get inked two days before the ceremony, stopped by the florist to check up on their centerpieces, and called the place they were renting everything else from to make sure they had the correct information. Ritsuka hadn't known how much work went into a wedding before; now he knew all too well how much time and energy it took to make one run smoothly, even one as small as his and Soubi's was going to be. They had only invited a hundred people.

Most of the time, Yuiko was trudging along behind him with Yayoi. She brought with her a small notebook, and made note of the status of whatever they were checking up on.

On Wednesday, Ritsuka looked at her, fervently scribbling away, and felt a wave of affection for her. "You're amazing, Yuiko," he said.

She looked up and smiled. "This is just what maids of honor do."

Ritsuka looked at Yayoi. He looked bored. "So what do best men do?"

Yuiko thought about it for a moment. "They throw the bachelor party. That's about it."

Ritsuka laughed. "I don't think I want one of those. I'm not even old enough to drink. That's the point of them, isn't it? Getting trashed?"

"Pretty much. Sometimes there's strippers," Yuiko said matter-of-factly.

"Then I definitely don't want one," Ritsuka said with distaste. "I'm not interested in strange women getting naked."

"Not all strippers are women, Ritsuka-kun," Yuiko said, laughing.

Ritsuka just shook his head and looked at Yayoi. "No bachelor party, ok?"

"I didn't even know I was supposed to throw you one," he said, stepping away from Yuiko to be sure she wouldn't be able to throttle him.

Yuiko threw Yayoi a dirty look, but Ritsuka distracted her by saying, "What else do we have to do?"

She checked her list. "It looks like we've gotten everything."

"Thank god. I'm exhausted," Ritsuka said. "Weddings are so much work." He checked his cell phone for the time. "Oh, shit! Soubi gets out in twenty minutes. I've got to go." He ran off towards the university campus and shouted over his shoulder, "Thanks again!"

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Soubi froze when he saw Ritsuka slide into the lecture hall through the back door, trying not to be conspicuous. He took a seat in the back row and smiled sweetly at Soubi.

Soubi cleared his throat and continued with his final lecture. The class would be taking the test the next day, so he had to get through everything it covered. He was finding it hard to do so, though, because of Ritsuka's presence. Ritsuka had never came to one of his classes before, and he proved to be extremely distracting. Soubi didn't mind much though, and he rushed through the last few slides on his powerpoint, as eager for the class to end as his students.

"That about covers it. The test is tomorrow morning at ten am… then you're all free."

A cheer erupted from the students and Soubi smiled out at them as they trickled out of the building.

Ritsuka stood up and slowly made his way up to the front of the building, attracting curious stares from the students filing out. One of the girls who always sat in the front row watched as Ritsuka walked up to Soubi and put his arms around him, giving him a quick kiss. "Agatsuma-sensei, is this your fiance?" she asked, giggling.

"You told your students about me?" Ritsuka asked him in a hushed tone, blushing.

"Yes. Was I not supposed to?"

"I just didn't know."

Soubi kissed Ritsuka passionately, leaning in so much that Ritsuka's back made an elegant arch, and Ritsuka turned redder. He straightened up and looked right at Rituska as he answered, "Yes, this is Ritsuka."

The girl grinned and giggled again. "When are you getting married?"

"Saturday."

"REALLY?! Congratulations! Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, sensei!" She turned on her heel and left the hall, leaving Ritsuka and Soubi alone.

"Hi," Ritsuka said breathlessly.

Soubi kissed Ritsuka's neck and Ritsuka flushed. "Soubi…"

"You've never came here before, Ritsuka."

"I just came to pick you up," Ritsuka said. "I couldn't wait to see you."

Soubi lifted Ritsuka off the ground and Ritsuka instinctively wrapped his legs around Soubi's waist, fearful of falling.

"Aren't I getting too heavy for this, Soubi?" he asked with mock indignation.

"I won't drop you, I promise," Soubi whispered as he resumed kissing Ritsuka's neck.

Ritsuka whimpered. "Are we really gonna do this here, Soubi?"

Soubi paused and pressed his forehead against Ritsuka's shoulder. "We probably shouldn't. It's not very professional. But I can hardly control myself." He set Ritsuka down on the floor gently, but kept his arms around him.

"Well then, we'll just have to go home. You don't have to control yourself there."

Soubi grinned; he grasped Ritsuka's hand in one of his and grabbed his bag with the other. "Let's go."

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"Sou-chan! Ric-chan! You're finally home! I was just about to call you! I've been waiting for ten minutes!"

Ritsuka and Soubi skidded to a halt on the landing to their apartment, stopping inches from where Kio was standing. "KIO!" Ritsuka screamed and launched himself at Kio, almost knocking him over. "When did you arrive back in Japan?!"

"Uh… about an hour ago. I stopped by a hotel and dropped off my stuff, then I came here." Soubi grinned, but looked pained as Ritsuka extracted himself from Kio.

"I'm glad that you're here Kio, but do you mind going somewhere else for a little while? Ritsuka and I have something we need to do real quick."

Ritsuka looked over at Soubi and glanced at his pelvis. "Oh, um, yeah, Kio… do you mind going somewhere else for about a half hour?"

Kio looked confused, but nodded. "I'll go chill in my hotel room. Call me when you're done doing… whatever you're going to do."

Soubi looked relieved and said, "Thanks Kio. We will."

He dragged Ritsuka into the apartment and Kio heard the lock click. He shrugged. "Must be horny."


	16. Chapter 16

_AN: Warning: Lemon insinuation right off the bat. Kyaaah~ That's how we roll up in this shit.  
I actually find this foreplay scene rather humorous. It took me so damn long to write, because I was having trouble keeping from laughing. :D_

_Also, I'm sorry this took so long to get out. I've been quite busy learning about Taoism lately. :B_

_(Wednesday Afternoon, t-minus 3 days until wedded bliss. ^^;)_

Soubi pressed Ritsuka up against the door once they were inside, his hands flying everywhere, removing Ritsuka's clothing frantically as he sucked on his neck.

"Soubi… don't leave any marks this time…" Ritsuka said as he felt the heat build up in his pants.

Soubi grunted and sucked at Ritsuka's neck harder, then slid his tongue down Ritsuka's now bare chest. His fingers flew to Ritsuka's belt and unbuckled it urgently; they unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and they fell to the floor around Ritsuka's ankles.

"Wait, Soubi… don't just undress me… it's not fair," Ritsuka said, gasping for air.

Soubi paused his trek downward and looked up at Ritsuka as his fingers floated to the buttons of his shirt, flicking them open. He flung it off of him and fell to his knees; his teeth bit the waist band of Ritsuka's briefs and tugged downward, causing chills to shoot up Ritsuka's spine. Ritsuka cupped Soubi's face in his hand and persuaded him upwards, catching his mouth with his own on his way up. Soubi whimpered and his fingers flew to Ritsuka's half-off underwear, desperately scraping at them. He tried sliding back down, but Ritsuka held him there and turned them around, so Soubi was pressed against the hard wood of the door.

"Ritsuka… I can't wait anymore… please…" Soubi pleaded as Ritsuka teased his nipples with his tongue.

Ritsuka could feel him trembling, but he just kept going slowly, toying with him by rubbing Soubi's package through his pants. Soubi groaned and fumbled with his button and zipper, but Ritsuka grabbed his wrist and fell to his knees, his face inches from Soubi's groin. He undid Soubi's pants and slid them down, excruciatingly slowly. He glanced up at Soubi's face; he was flushed and panting, biting his lower lip. Ritsuka smirked and looped his fingers under the leg holes of Soubi's briefs, rubbing the soft skin there while he bit lightly on Soubi's manhood through the fabric. Soubi's abdomen tensed and his breathing came in short, ragged breaths.

Ritsuka couldn't take it anymore; no matter how much he loved teasing Soubi like this, his composure was cracking. His hands floated to his own underwear and slid them off deftly, then flew to Soubi's hips, clawing his down. They got stuck on Soubi's erection and Ritsuka bit the waistband, pulling it away and freeing Soubi from the fabric prison. His breath played against Soubi's head and Soubi groaned again. "You're a damned sadist…"

Ritsuka laughed a tinkling laugh and stood up, pressing himself against Soubi and biting his neck. "But you're a masochist, so it works out."

Ritsuka wrapped his arms around Soubi's hips and pulled him backwards, towards the bed, kissing him and biting him the whole way.

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"Soubi…"

A half hour later, Ritsuka was laying on top of Soubi, exhausted and sweaty.

Soubi opened his eyes and looked at Ritsuka on top of him. "Hmm?"

Ritsuka rolled off of Soubi and sat up. He hesitated and bit his lower lip. "Uh… we're supposed to call Kio…"

Soubi closed his eyes again and stretched out his limbs. His now flaccid manhood rolled against his thigh. Ritsuka watched the spectacle and reluctantly tore his eyes away so he wouldn't get hard again. "I suppose we should…" He got up and went over to the front door, picking up the clothes the pair had left there; he pulled on his underwear and pants and walked back over to Ritsuka, holding out his clothes for him to take. Ritsuka took them and put them on, but almost reluctantly. Once he was dressed again, he just stood there, watching Soubi rummage around in his pocket for his cell phone.

The moment Soubi's fingers found his phone, Ritsuka was on him, and he was knocked over onto the floor. There were limbs flying everywhere, and once the dust settled, Ritsuka was straddling Soubi's stomach, his face inches from Soubi's. "Hey," Ritsuka breathed. His face was pink from exertion.

Soubi wrapped his arms around Ritsuka's waist and clasped them together at the small of Ritsuka's back. He smiled and said, "Hi," before pecking him on the lips innocently.

Ritsuka leaned into the kiss, keeping himself pressed against Soubi. Soubi's hands moved up into Ritsuka's hair and gently pried him away. Ritsuka looked disappointed and rested his forehead against Soubi's, looking directly into his eyes. They were still lustful. Soubi felt a pang of something like regret as he said, "Ritsuka, we promised Kio…"

"I know, but…" He looked pained.

"Tonight. I promise. As soon as Kio leaves. Okay?"

Ritsuka sighed. "I love you, Soubi."

"I love you too, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka dug his hand into Soubi's pocket and fished out his cell phone. He looked in the contact list for Kio and hit the call button, holding the phone to Soubi's ear. _Damn you Kio_, he thought, only half-sarcastic.

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Ten minutes later, they heard a knock on the door. They were still in the same position, necking in the middle of the floor. At the sound, Ritsuka gently extracted himself from Soubi and got up off of him. He held out his hand and helped Soubi up, then followed him over to the door like a lost puppy, trying to shake the fantasies of what would happen later from his mind.

"Ah, Kio, welcome back. Thank you for coming back."

Kio just smiled knowingly. Soubi and Ritsuka were glowing and looked refreshed. He stepped over the threshold and took off his shoes. "How's it going?"

"Wonderfully," Ritsuka answered. He couldn't take his eyes off of Soubi, no matter how hard he tried.

They went towards the couch, and Kio and Soubi sat down on it. Ritsuka sat on the floor, leaning against Soubi's legs. Soubi absentmindedly played with Ritsuka's hair.

Kio felt awkward. "So, um… are you excited? For the wedding, I mean?"

Ritsuka laughed. "Of course. Wouldn't you be?"

"I'd probably be scared shitless, but marriage isn't really my thing."

Soubi answered this time. "I didn't think it would be my thing, either, but… I couldn't imagine anything I wanted more than being with Ritsuka for the rest of my life, and since that's what Ritsuka wants…" His voice trailed off. "It's actually been kind of fun, planning this thing. Hasn't it?"

Ritsuka blushed as Soubi was speaking and nodded when he was done. "You'd be surprised how much fun it's been. I mean, it's a lot of work, but… it almost feels like you're planning the beginning of the rest of your life." He tilted his head back and looked up at Soubi. "You know?"

Soubi smiled at him with pure love etched on his face. He bent down and kissed Ritsuka's forehead, saying "Exactly."

Kio grinned. "You know, Ric-chan, when I first found out about you, I was devastated. I thought, 'Shit, another Aoyagi. He's going to treat Sou-chan like a dog, like Seimei did.' But, I've never been more happy to be proven wrong. You brought Sou-chan back to the world of the living… I can't thank you enough for that."

Ritsuka looked thoughtful. "He kind of brought me back to the world of the living, too. I thought life was pointless before I met him… I can't even imagine where I would have been by now if I hadn't. I'd probably be dead by now."

Soubi stared at the top of Ritsuka's head and grasped his shoulders. He felt his eyes start to well up, and clenched them closed, trying to staunch the flow.

Ritsuka rested his hand over Soubi's and laid his head on top of them, a pleasant smile on his face.

Kio grinned again. "You guys are the cutest couple I've ever seen. The love between you is almost tangible." He hesitated. "Must be nice," he added quietly.

Ritsuka lifted his head and looked over at Kio. He looked troubled. Ritsuka began tentatively, "Kio… how are you and your boyfriend doing?"

Kio seemed to snap out of a trance and studied Ritsuka's face. He sighed and gazed off into space, saying, "We're okay, I guess. He's not really the type to be all lovey-dovey. It's a little maddening sometimes, but I deal with it. I love him. I think he loves me… but… he hasn't…" Kio felt a tear slide down his face and looked embarrassed.

Ritsuka stood up and sat on the couch between Kio and Soubi, hugging Kio briefly and looking him straight in the face with compassion and concern. "Sometimes it takes people a while to get comfortable saying 'I love you'. It took me, what, almost six years? Don't worry too much about it, Kio. I'm sure he loves you, he just doesn't know how to tell you.… Soubi probably knows all about what you're going through."

Kio seemed emboldened and he looked over to Soubi. He was smiling blithely, his eyes on Ritsuka. "I think I always just felt that Ritsuka loved me, just in the way he acted. That kept me going until he was ready to say it." He hesitated as Ritsuka returned to his position against his legs, then continued, "I mean, there were times when I was afraid that he didn't, but… I don't know, just _something_ about him made me believe he did, and I was able to not worry about it too much. I just knew that I couldn't force it out of him, and it had to be on his own terms when he said it."

Kio had on a thinking face. "I guess that makes sense. I just wonder sometimes… but, why else would he put up with me if he didn't feel something for me?" He chuckled, and Ritsuka and Soubi laughed gently, too, feeling it was okay to.

Soubi reached over and ruffled Kio's hair. "Cheer up, kiddo. I'm getting married in three days."

Kio looked indignant at his hair being messed up, but just laughed. "Sorry. I didn't come over here to complain about my personal life. Just wanted to catch up." He stood up. "If you guys need any help with anything, I'm here with pretty much nothing to do. Call me." He held his thumb and pinky to his ear and winked, then walked over to the door to put on his shoes.

Ritsuka and Soubi looked mildly surprised and got up, following him over to the entryway. "Leaving so soon?"

"Well, yeah, I figured you guys would want your alone time," Kio said, flashing a big, toothy grin at them and a look that was maybe a little too knowing.

Ritsuka blushed and played absently with the ring on his finger. It really had turned his skin underneath it green. "Well… okay then. We'll see you later then?"

"Yep."

"Kio." Soubi was speaking.

"Sou-chan?"

"Would you like to come with us to get inked tomorrow?"

Ritsuka had completely forgotten that they had an appointment to get their wedding bands tattooed on the next day. "Oh, yeah, that's tomorrow! You could get something, too, Kio!"

Kio looked confused. "Inked? What do you mean?"

"Well, Ritsuka and I are forgoing from the traditional. Instead of metal, we're getting ink to wear on our fingers."

Ritsuka laughed at Soubi's wording. "We're getting tattoo wedding bands instead of gold ones. Wanna come watch? We could probably persuade them to give you something, too, if you want. It'll be a present for being Soubi's best man." He grinned and winked.

Kio smiled, barely concealing the shock he felt at hearing that the pair were getting tattoos the next day. "Sure, I'll come. I _have_ been wanting another one for a while now."

Ritsuka grinned. "Lovely. Our appointments is at two-thirty. Meet us there?"

"Alright."

Soubi wrapped his arm around Ritsuka's shoulder. "See you there then."

Kio left the apartment and heard a giggle behind the door. He rolled his eyes, but smiled. _Those two, honestly. Can't they even wait until I'm down the stairs?_


	17. Chapter 17

_AN: I'm sorry. I suck. I couldn't get this where I wanted it to go, so it's kinda half-assed. I'll do better next time. :[_

_Heheh, this tattoo parlor is based off of one in my hometown. It was the weirdest experience I've ever had. When I got my tattoo there, this was basically my experience, even the gross parts, except I didn't get a wedding band. Talk about using personal experiences to spice up your writing._

"Soubi, is it going to hurt?" Ritsuka looked worried as the pair walked arm in arm towards the tattoo parlor.

"I don't know. I've never gotten one before." He hesitated, looking thoughtful. "I suppose it probably does. They're going to be stabbing us repeatedly with a needle."

Ritsuka bit his lip and watched the ground pass under his feet. Soubi pulled him closer and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, Ritsuka."

The apprehension on Ritsuka's face seemed to lessen a little, and his fingers relented their grip on Soubi's arm a little. "I love _you, _Soubi."

They arrived in front of the tattoo parlor and hesitated on the threshold.

"You're sure you want to do this, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka bit his lip and looked over at Soubi. He nodded and pulled open the door, holding it open for Soubi.

They stepped into the parlor and it was as if they had stepped into a completely different world. The shop was nestled between a fast food joint and a consignment shop, so the outside appearance was a little bleak and unwelcoming. They were greeted in the lobby, however, with a bust of Zeus made of the finest marble, and a jingling Swarovski crystal chandelier hung over their heads.

Ritsuka and Soubi stood there with their mouth gaping, taking in the complete and utter opulence of the place. Ritsuka had only called to schedule their appointments; he'd never actually been in the place.

They turned and went down a small hallway to the main waiting area. A small woman covered in ink smiled at them from behind a mahogany desk and said, "Welcome to Da Vinci Tattoo. Do you have appointments or is this a walk-in?"

Ritsuka shook himself and tried to get his wits about him. "Well, he and I have appointments, but we have a friend coming… could you possibly fit him in, too?"

"Of course, sir. We'll be happy to. What are your names?"

"Aoyagi Ritsuka and Agatsuma Soubi."

She checked her record book and smiled at them. "Ah, you're getting wedding bands. Congratulations."

Ritsuka thanked her by bowing slightly. "I don't know what our friend wants. He should be here soon. Can we wait for him, or do we have to go now?"

"Of course, you may wait for him. What is your friend's name? For our records."

"Kio…" Ritsuka hesitated, drawing a blank. "Soubi, what's Kio's last name?"

Soubi broke out of his trance and said, "Kaidou. Kaidou Kio."

The woman nodded and wrote it down in her book. "If you would like, you could have a seat and look through our portfolio, to see if you like anything. We can also do custom tattoos, but if you have a starting point, it makes the process a lot easier."

They nodded in unison and walked over to a burgundy and cream chaise lounge, sitting side by side. Ritsuka tugged a large book from a pile on a small side table nearby, and opened it on his and Soubi's lap. There were hundreds of photos there of various body parts, all freshly inked, some bleeding still. Ritsuka cringed when he saw a particularly nasty photo of a woman's genitalia with the phrase "fuck me" written across the little triangle of skin, still oozing blood.

"Why would you want something like that?" he asked no one in particular, disgusted.

Soubi didn't say anything. He had turned his head away from the book and was examining a large painting on the wall.

Ritsuka turned the pages, scanning for photos of hands. He found very few, and even fewer that he actually liked, so he moved onto another volume. This one provided better results, but there still wasn't anything perfect. Finally, in the third book, he found something that took his breath away. It was a delicate little thing, with scroll work weaving around the finger, and, on the area where the stone would be on a normal ring, there was room for a name, in elegant cursive text. "Soubi, look at this."

Soubi looked at the image that Ritsuka was pointing at and his face instantly lit up. "That's perfect, Ritsuka!"

Ritsuka beamed.

"Hey you guys, sorry I'm late!"

Kio appeared in the hallway and nodded to the small woman, indicating that he was with them.

"You're right on time, Kio, we just found what we're going to get."

Ritsuka showed him the photo and Kio smirked. "It's a little girly."

"Shut up. I like it," Ritsuka said indignantly.

Kio messed up Ritsuka's hair and said with a smile, "I was kidding. Don't get your panties in a bunch, missy."

Ritsuka glared at Kio. Soubi cleared his throat and said, "Kio, what are you going to get?"

"I'm just going to have them add on to my current one. I've been wanting it modified for a while now." With that, he turned on his heel and addressed the small woman. "Miss, I think we're ready now. The lovebirds here know what they want." He winked at her.

"Of course, Mr. Kaidou. I'll take you to the workshop, then. Follow me."

Ritsuka slid the photo from the album and grasped Soubi's hand, holding it tightly. They were going deep into the bowels of the building, to the very center, through winding hallways and doorways that led off every which way.

Ritsuka moved closer to Soubi, creeped out. _What the hell? Did we stumble into the damned Labyrinth or something? Where's David Bowie?_

They stepped through a billowing black curtain and were drowned by what seemed like millions of fluorescent light bulbs. As their eyes adjusted, they saw that they were in a long, narrow room with what looked like beautician stations along each of the long walls. They could see salon chairs and massage tables under each of the lights, with small stools next to them for the artists.

"Mr. Kaidou, where are you getting inked?"

"My lower back."

"You'll need a table then. Mr. Aoyagi and Mr. Agatsuma will be in chairs. Would you like to be together?"

Ritsuka nodded, his eyes almost pleading, still clinging to Soubi's arm.

She smiled knowingly and said, "Right this way, then. Please have a seat."

Ritsuka and Soubi sat in identical salon chairs, and Kio sat down on a nearby massage table, eyeing the instruments on the workbench. Ritsuka examined them too. He got chills when he saw the various needles, in hard plastic wrappers, sorted according to size. They ranged from the smallest of pricks to huge-ass elephant needles.

He gulped and looked over at Soubi. Soubi was lounging back in the chair, looking completely comfortable. "Soubi…"

"Ritsuka? What's wrong?"

Ritsuka bit his lip. He held his hand out towards Soubi pathetically, and Soubi took it, caressing the soft skin of the back of Ritsuka's hand.

"You're going to be fine, Ritsuka. I'm here."

There was a soft bang at the end of the room and all three men turned to look, shielding their eyes from the fluorescence, trying to see better.

Three people were walking towards them, covered almost from head to toe in ink. There were two women and a man.

The two women made a beeline for Ritsuka and Soubi, sitting on their respective stools and greeting the men. The guy was left for Kio, and he sat on his stool rather moodily. Soubi giggled a little at the situation, and the sound made Ritsuka relax more than anything else.

"Hi, I'm Reina. I'll be poking you today," the woman said to Ritsuka, smiling. "What are we going for today?"

"I'd like a wedding band done. I have a photo from one of your albums." He indicated towards Soubi. "His is going to be the same design."

"Ah, so you're the lucky couple." She flashed a toothy smile to the other woman and put on a look of mock disappointment. "Why are the hot ones always gay?"

Ritsuka laughed a little at this. He was feeling a little more confident. He handed over the photo and the woman smiled. "Aw, that's pretty. What name do you want on it?"

Ritsuka hesitated and looked over at Soubi. Their eyes met and an unspoken agreement was reached between them. Ritsuka and Soubi said almost simultaneously, "Loveless."

"Eh? Is that English?"

"Yes. It's a word that's very special to us. It will bind us together for the rest of our lives." Ritsuka smiled, remembering all of the times he'd said he despised his real name. But, if Soubi and Ritsuka were ever to be completely connected, they had to share a name somewhere on their bodies. Ritsuka's hadn't appeared over all the years, and the scars from Seimei had slowly faded from Soubi's neck, so you could barely see them anymore. Soubi seemed to think that it was because Seimei and his orders were gradually becoming less and less important to him. All that mattered to him now was Ritsuka. He was no longer Beloved's Fighter. He belonged to Loveless. In just a few short hours, they would have proof of it.

The woman shrugged and pulled out a small inkwell from one of the drawers. She took a swab of iodine out of a jar and wiped it all over Ritsuka's finger, making the slight green stain that was still there fade and blend with the gangrenous yellow of the iodine.

"Have you ever gotten a tattoo before?"

Ritsuka shook his head. He was looking more frightened now, because the woman was perusing her selection of needles.

"Ahh, a virgin. I'll stick you with a little one on you then. They're easier to bear."

She selected one of the tiniest needles and slid it into an apparatus that looked like an industrial strength ballpoint pen. She dipped it into the ink and turned it on. It buzzed almost sinisterly and splattered some ink onto the tray she'd erected next to her stool.

Once she'd gotten the ink into the evil stick, she wiped the tip on a piece of paper towel and hovered the instrument over Ritsuka's finger. "I'm going to do the name first, okay? Just relax. Don't tighten the muscles of your hand; it'll make it go all funky."

Ritsuka focused all of his energy on keeping his hand slack as the woman lowered the needle to his skin. He felt a series of small pokes, and it felt like she was giving him a paper cut. He looked down at it after a few moments -- an elegant, cursive L was already there. "Is that it?" he asked. "Is it going to hurt more than that or what?"

The woman laughed easily as she wiped the area with a paper towel, getting the excess ink off. "Nope, that's about it. These tiny little needles just feel like a pinch."

Ritsuka took a deep breath and laughed at himself. _Wow, I'm such a pussy_, he thought. _This isn't bad at all._

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An hour and a half later, the three men exited the shop. Soubi and Ritsuka's ring fingers were wrapped in what looked like plastic wrap, and they both clutched a small tube of TattooGlue, a moisturizer so that they would be healed by Saturday. Kio's shirt was tied up in the back, to give his new ink some air.

"Well, that was fun. Thank you for inviting me!" Kio said, beaming.

"Our pleasure. See you tomorrow night for rehearsal?"

"Yep! See you then!" Kio skipped off down the road, looking completely and utterly ridiculous.

Ritsuka and Soubi looked at each other, then broke down into giggles. "He's _your _friend, Soubi."

Soubi slid his arm around Ritsuka's shoulder. "Who says?"

"I say," Ritsuka said, grinning.

"Well, you _are_ the master," he said with a chuckle. "So…"

"So… So what?"

"So, what do you want to do today?"

"Hmm… I don't know. What do you want to do?"

Soubi nibbled on Ritsuka's ear and whispered huskily, "Well, I _am_ a masochist, and I was just subjected to pain for an hour and a half straight."

Ritsuka grinned. "You're a perv."

Soubi chuckled and kissed Ritsuka's cheek. "You're adorable, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka wrapped his arm around Soubi's waist and laid his head on Soubi's shoulder. He sighed and said, "I love you, Soubi."

"I love you too, Ritsuka."

"We're going to be married in two days."

"I know, Ritsuka. Are you happy?"

Ritsuka turned Soubi's face towards his and kissed him passionately. "Happiest man in the world."

"That's not possible, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka looked confused. "Why not?"

"Because _I_ am."

Ritsuka smiled. "How about we call it a tie, then?"

Soubi nodded and gave Ritsuka a small squeeze. "We are one now."

Ritsuka looked down at his new tattoo through the clear plastic. It really was a stunning piece of art. "We've always been one. Now we just have proof."

Soubi felt a wave of emotion and kissed the top of Ritsuka's head. "It must have been fate."

Ritsuka frowned and said, "We're connected so strongly by choice. We weren't destined for each other, but we found each other anyway. Fate had nothing to do with it."

Soubi looked thoughtful. "Maybe it was fate for us to find each other and fall in love even though we weren't destined."

Ritsuka looked over at him and smiled. "Always the philosopher, Soubi."

He grinned. "I'm just playing devil's advocate. But there is one thing that's for sure."

"What is that?"

"I love you with all of my heart, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka felt a tear well up at the side of his eye and he wiped it away impatiently. "I love you too, Soubi. With all of _my _heart."

_You're all I'll ever need._


	18. Chapter 18

_AN: Well, here goes. Thus begins part two, book two, the sequel, whatever you want to call it. I'm keeping it in with this one, because it's basically just a continuation. This is rapidly turning into a saga. u.u I'm completely okay with that. Are you? :B _

_Also, I'd like to tell you all that I've been tearing my hair out over where this is going to go for weeks now. For some reason, writers' block has chosen ME to be a bitch to. :(_

_PS: Moral of the story, don't wake a sleeping Kio. He's a bit of a douche when he's tired._

It was Saturday morning, and Ritsuka woke up in a daze. His surroundings were unfamiliar and the bed he was in was cold without Soubi in it with him. He groaned and looked over towards the other bed in the small hotel room, his eyes struggling to focus in the hazy pre-sunrise light that leaked through the worn curtains. He saw a huddled mass in the middle of it, and a pair of arms hanging off the side, the only skin uncovered by the blankets. Ritsuka sat up and rubbed his tired eyes, shaking off the cobwebs of sleep from his limbs and his brain. Slowly, he realized what today was, where he was, who was with him, and what it meant. A huge grin split his face in two and he leapt out of the foreign bed onto the other, tackling the sleeping forms of Yuiko and Yayoi. Yayoi yelped at the contact, but Yuiko was unfazed. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at her attacker with a bemused expression.

"Ritsuka-kun, would you please get off of us? It's too early to cuddle," she said sweetly.

Ritsuka sniggered and rolled off of the bed almost reluctantly, allowing the two to extract themselves from each other and sit up under the covers, yawning and stretching.

"I'm sorry. I'm excited," Ritsuka blurted, looking almost hysterical.

"As you should be," Yuiko stated seriously, "but you scared Yayoi." She glanced over at him - he still looked a little shaken, and also a little embarrassed about how Ritsuka discovered them sleeping in a tight embrace.

Ritsuka just grinned. He pranced over to the curtains and tore them open, allowing bright, fresh sunlight to stream into the room more easily. He threw open the window and breathed in the sweet scent of the first day of summer, a contented smile playing across his soft features, his eyes half closed. Then he spun on the spot and addressed the room in general. His voice shook with anticipation and excitement as he proclaimed, "I'm getting married today!"

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Soubi groaned in his sleep and rolled over on the couch in the apartment, unwilling to wake up so early in the morning. He tried to ignore the incessant knocking on the door, but after a few minutes of the rhythmic tapping, he couldn't stop his ears from ringing because of it. He lifted himself off of the cushions with some difficulty. Being a gentleman, he had allowed Kio to sleep in his bed for the night and took the couch, instead. He instantly regretted his decision the moment he laid down on the hard, scratchy surface. Soubi stood and stalked over to the door, trying to lessen the pain in his lower back as he walked. _No more sleeping on the couch, _he thought. _I'm getting too old for this._

Soubi flicked open the lock and heaved the door open as if it were physically taxing to do so, looking almost menacingly at the petite person standing on his welcome mat.

The childish woman's face flushed. "Ohayou, Agatsuma-san. Am I too early?"

Soubi absently scratched at his scalp, his fingers untangling his long blonde hair at the roots where he'd slept on it. "Yes," he said simply, "but come in anyway."

Soubi stood aside and allowed Hitomi to enter his apartment, resisting the urge to slam the door in her face.

"Kio! Wake up. There is a lady present." Soubi walked over to the couch, picked up one of the pillows there, and chucked it at Kio's half awake form.

"Mmmf…." Kio's head emerged from under the covers, his face indignant and his hair all over the place. "What was THAT for, d-bag?!"

"We have company. And watch your language in front of a woman with such _virgin_ ears," Soubi said, smirking and quite pleased with the amount of wit he had so early in the morning.

Hitomi's and Kio's faces pinkened slightly, but for entirely separate reasons. Hitomi opened her mouth furiously with every intention of chewing him out, but Soubi cut across her before she got the chance to say more than, "Agat-!"

"Would you like something to drink?"

Hitomi's eyes narrowed in irritation, but nevertheless, she said, "Yes, please."

Soubi glanced over at Kio and raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry, to which Kio nodded.

"Please have a seat, Hitomi-san. I'll make a pot of tea. Don't bug her too much, Kio."

Soubi inwardly sighed as he walked towards the sink. _Today's the day._ He smiled. _I love you, Ritsuka._

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Ritsuka vaulted himself over the bed and flung open the drawer of the nightstand, fishing around inside for his cell phone. When his fingers touched it, he seized it almost frantically and flipped it open, dialing a number he knew by heart at the speed of light.

"Oi, what are you doing?!"

Ritsuka's fingers froze and he looked up at Yuiko. "Calling Soubi," he said innocently.

"You're not supposed to talk to him before tonight! Or don't you remember? You specifically told us to stop you if you tried calling him!"

"… I changed my mind. I want to call him." Ritsuka scooted his butt on the bed, getting away from her in case she was thinking of repossessing the phone. Instead, she just rolled her eyes at him and walked towards the bathroom.

"I didn't see or hear anything."

Ritsuka smiled and yelled over his shoulder, "You rock, Yuiko!" He hit the call button and waited with bated breath. After a few rings, Ritsuka's face fell. _Soubi promised to always answer his phone, if it's from me, _he thought, a little irritated. _Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up! _

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Bzzzzzzz…. Bzzzzzzz…. Bzzzzzzz…..

"Sou-chaaaan! Your phone is vibrating!"

Soubi froze in the process of packing a tea ball. _Who the hell is calling me this early? …It couldn't be…?_

"Answer it, please, Kio."

_Please, let it be… _Soubi held his breath…

"Oh, hi there, Ric-chan! I take it you want to talk to Sou-chan?" Kio covered the mouthpiece of the phone with a hand and chirped, "Souuuu-chaaan! It's your loooooverbooooy!"

Soubi's stomach fluttered as he launched himself towards Kio, who was sitting on the couch, and snatched the phone from his hand, skidding to a halt just in time to prevent a painful collision that would undoubtedly involve a couple of somersaults and maybe a few broken limbs. He spoke breathlessly into the mouthpiece, trying to conceal his excitement from both the man on the other line and the two smirking individuals on his couch.

"Hi."

"I miss you," he heard Ritsuka whisper.

Soubi walked out onto the balcony and closed the door behind him before answering, "I miss you too, Ritsuka. How are you?"

A hesitation."Excited."

Soubi smiled. "Me too…. So… did you just call to say hi?"

"I wanted to hear your voice."

"You're adorable, Ritsuka."

"Say it again."

"Say what?"

"My name."

Soubi smiled again. "Ritsuka."

He heard Ritsuka sigh contentedly on the line. "Now tell me you love me."

"I love you, Ritsuka."

"I love you too, Soubi." Ritsuka's voice was shaking with emotion. Soubi thought he might be crying. His heart twinged.

"Are you crying, Ritsuka?"

"… No."

"You are. You're not a very good liar." He chuckled and he could almost feel Ritsuka's face reddening.

Ritsuka sniffled and said, "Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes it is. Why are you crying, Ritsuka?"

"Be… because… because I… I'm going crazy without you here." The last six words came out as a jumbled mess.

Soubi's butterflies went bonkers, as if they were trying to escape a gruesome death by hydrochloric acid. He was trembling. "Ritsuka…" was all he managed before the words got stuck in his throat. A lonely tear slid down his face, hesitating on his chin, and leaped, as if committing suicide, to the cold concrete below, broken.

"Soubi…?"

Soubi swallowed and cleared his throat, trying to steady his racing heart. "Ritsuka… I never want to be away from you again." He slid down the wall he'd been leaning on and landed in a heap on the balcony, still shaking. His breath was coming in laboured rasps.

"Soubi… are you okay?" Ritsuka sounded concerned.

"I will be… tonight," he said with a slight chuckle about how those words would sound in any other context.

Ritsuka giggled. "We'll never have to be apart again."

Soubi sighed. "Thank god for that… Ritsuka."

"Hmm?"

"Kiss me."

Ritsuka made a kissing sound and giggled again. "Like that?"

"Thank you. I'll see you later, then?"

"Yep. In a fancy tuxedo."

"Heh. I can't wait."

"I love you Soubi."

"I love you too, Ritsuka."

There was a click and the line went dead. Soubi slowly closed his phone and stood up, struggling to compose himself before going back inside.

_Damn. That boy… he drives me crazy.... I never thought I would come to love him this much.  
_


End file.
